Halo: The Next Generation
by General Texas
Summary: A great light has risen from the ashes of its ancestors, but wherever there is light there must be an equal darkness. With a new, more destructive power threatening all sentient life once more, a new band of heroes must take a stand while attempting to fit in to their temporary new home. Expect extreme violence and slight romance. On hiatus for plot editing.
1. Record 1: Evolution

Halo: Next Generation

Record Log I: Forerunner's Second Chance

Part 1: Evolution

* * *

Almost everyone knows about the Forerunners, the first advanced civilization in the Universe. Everyone also knows about the deadly plague known as the Flood, the only infection as small as a human head and massive as an interstellar warship known to only infect intelligent life. Even the ultimate sacrifice made by the Forerunners to preserve intelligent life is known by every thinking creature. But there are secrets that remain unfound by even the most critical eye. Secrets that could destroy everything if let out.

The Forerunners were, indeed, a powerful race, but they were doomed from the start. Even if their technology were the greatest ever to exist, things wouldn't change. The only thing that could've saved them was the very thing they cast out: evolution. Their society was the base of all societies seen in the future; but even their society would not accept the supernatural, especially if the supernatural was among their species. This was the evolution that could've saved their species: supernatural abilities of every child's dreams. The Forerunners didn't see the beauty, the safety, in this evolution—they only saw the fear they had of it. Some scholars believe that the Forerunners simply weren't ready for this powerful evolution at the time, and so they exiled every member of their species who evolved.

By this time, nearly twenty years before their eventual great sacrifice, the Flood came onto the scene and began wreaking havoc. The Forerunners never expected this plague to come at all, and thus were unprepared for this arrival. What the traditionalist Forerunners never realized was that neither technology nor supernatural alone could stop this hostile new threat, but only technology and supernatural combined could save all intelligent life. Both those who relied on technology and the newly evolved species came up with thousands of plans, but at the time only one plan seemed to work: the Halo weapons. Both recognized that this was the only way to put the Flood to sleep, so the massive ring weapons were scattered across the places where the Flood were known to reside. They also recognized that if they fired the weapons, the Forerunners would be wiped out of existence as well as the Flood.

The Flood recognized the threat to their existence and tried to put a stop to the threat. This was where the evolved Forerunners (who were eventually known as the Guardians, due to their supernatural abilities and human appearance) would come in: they were authorized to, should the Flood attempt to destroy the rings, use their abilities to slow the plague down enough to buy enough time for the traditional Forerunners to fire the Halo rings. Surprisingly, this plan worked: the Flood and their food sources were wiped out in a devastating blast from the weapons. Sadly, this was the last time the Forerunners would ever see the light of day. They expected as such, but this plan worked so well that their species was either wiped out or sent into hiding on shield worlds. The Guardians who survived made certain to rebuild that which they had destroyed and left the galaxy before anyone or anything could ask questions. They went unnoticed in their new home and could therefore rebuild the powerful society destroyed by the entry of the Flood and firing of the Halo weapons. Before they left to this new home, however, they swore never to destroy all intelligent life ever again.

Finally, it seemed as though life had found its peace. Life began to flourish again where the Flood first threatened all life. The new Guardians had finally found a place where they could call home and go unnoticed. Humans began to develop their new society. And, for once, there seemed to be nothing to threaten life anymore. Peace grew abundant throughout both galaxies. For the time being, this peace would not only last, but grow more than ever…

* * *

A/N: Well, that was fun. I think. Tell me in a review if you at least thought it was interesting. I swear it will get much better. I swear. There is a reason I listed this under RWBY, you'll see why. And to all Rooster Teeth fans out there: yes, I heard that Monty Oum died, albeit a little bit late. Sad, because I really wanted to not only meet him but work with him. Dang it all, Life: quit throwing' us on a rollercoaster! Jeez, it's like everyone I know keeps either dying or going through a rough time. Even I can't escape the bad luck.

Well, enough with the rant, happy Valentine's Day (albeit a day late). For those of you like me just look at today as we're halfway through the month. THANK GOD!

I realize it's been a while since I've done anything, but I've been trying to write my own books and catch up on Rooster Teeth stuff. And I accidentally procrastinated on my homework. OOPS! Hehe… that happens with me WAY too much.

Quick disclaimer: I do not own Halo, Bungee (or is it Bunjee? tell me in a review), Microsoft, the Forerunners, the Flood, the Covenant, or anything else that I mention. I don't own Rooster Teeth, RWBY, or anything that I might mention, either; even if I join the ranks of Rooster Teeth, I will never own anything of theirs. The only thing that I do own is my imagination, and even that's questionable at times.

See you all whenever I can get to you and actually type. Just sayin': it's an option. A stupid, dangerous, possibly suicidal option, but it's still an option.


	2. Record 1: Redemption

A/N: Wow. Just wow. I am wowed, guys. A day after publishing and you guys already want more (I nearly typed 'gays' unintentionally; that happens sometimes). I am impressed. Normally I don't get this much love. Y'all are awesome. In fact, someone gave me a few plot ideas (thanks, panzer hunter), so expect this story to be longer than you've ever read in your life.

Just in case you're wondering, I _will_ add in RWBY soon, but it won't be in this Record. This one's just a history thing. Yes, I know, _so fun_, but it will help to explain some things (okay, a lot of things).

Quick disclaimer: Even though Monty died, I still don't own RWBY (and honestly don't want to; I like it the way it is, though I would like to help RT out with it). I also don't own Halo, even though I really like the series; I only got Combat Evolved on my flash drive from a friend. Okay, now I feel like a thief… On with the story already! *Roll end credits*

* * *

Halo: Next Generation

Record Log I: Forerunners' Second Chance

Part 2: Redemption

* * *

Peace settled in the galaxies, but it was a fleeting peace. Unknown for thousands of years, a secret more powerful than the Flood was unleashed. This secret was essentially the Flood's evolution: the Hellborn. The Hellborn, unlike the Flood, had a natural human appearance, a united language, and a resistance to what would easily kill the Flood, including the blast of the Halo weapons. In fact, this new plague was so powerful that it had developed a united supernatural power: the control and manipulation of shadows and darkness. In a sense, they were the very incarnation of darkness. They longed for revenge against the Guardians, and they knew where to look. The Hellborn eventually found their way to the Guardians, and found that the species was totally unprepared for what came next.

History seemed to repeat itself as the Guardians attempted to ward off the Hellborn to little avail. Remembering their promise never to destroy all life ever again, the Guardians fought with a fury like no other, matched to this day only by the rage brought by the Hellborn. The Guardians were valiant in their war against the new threat, but even they couldn't hold on forever. They started losing their foothold against the Hellborn, and for years it seemed like the Hellborn would overtake the Guardians.

Hope has a funny way of answering the prayers of those who fight for it, and this instance was no different. The Guardians were valiant in their efforts, but were slowly losing their grasp on life. It seemed as though the Hellborn would bury the brief existence of the Guardians under the void of Darkness, but Hope prevailed. From behind the wall of battle-weary Guardians, there came seven heroes to challenge the Hellborn. These seven heroes, known as the Knights, had abilities that challenged even the imaginations of the Guardians, and were even pushed out of society. They didn't care, however, and were even willing to sacrifice themselves to destroy the threat.

Surprising both the Guardians and the Hellborn, the Knights were able to push the Hellborn invasion back. Progress was fast at the beginning, but it slowed down as they came closer to the source of the invasion. Finally, the Knights, along with one Guardian leader, reached the heart of the fleet of Hellborn. Combining their strengths, the Knights sacrificed themselves to destroy the Hellborn fleet. The sacrifice worked, and the fleet of Hellborn retreated, but not before they promised to destroy the Guardians eventually.

With the Hellborn out of the picture—even if temporarily—peace settled among the Guardians once again.

Nearly two thousand years later, peace would once again disappear as a new threat emerged. This new threat was different from the others; the Flood and Hellborn were forces that forced the Guardians to unite against all odds, but this threat was twice as dangerous as the Flood and Hellborn combined. This threat was the civil war that would go on for millennia.

One side of the war—the Guardians of Andromeda—decided that they and the Forerunners were no longer of the same species but swore to continue their legacy, while the other—the Neo-Forerunners—declared that the Guardians were still of Forerunner descent. The Neo-Forerunners were all for the idea that this galaxy was now theirs and all other species were imposters, and went on a genocidal rampage against all other species in the galaxy. The Guardians of Andromeda, like the Forerunners, favored sentient life and would protect it with their life; even the idea of small scale genocide horrified and disgusted them, and fought against those who were for it. The Neo-Forerunners thought that a democratic government would destroy their species and agreed with tyrannical ideals, while the Guardians of Andromeda reasoned that tyranny would cause widespread war and would destroy them faster than no government at all.

This war raged for millennia, and only recently has the war worsened due to who was in control. The peaceful Adam Wilson once led the Neo-Forerunners, while the scarred but passive war General Thomas Sanderson governed the Guardians of Andromeda. General Sanderson still governs the Guardians of Andromeda, but Wilson of the Neo-Forerunners was killed by his own son—the more violent John Wilson—who has since taken charge of the rebellion.

* * *

(Andromeda flagship, over mysterious world)

"Well," a young man trails off. "Thanks for the history lesson, but I'm hungry."

"Must you always bring food into every conversation," a woman around the same age demands.

"What can I say," the man replies. "I'm a growing boy."

"Max," a second man groans. "Could you please refrain from flirting with every girl you see? Some of us here want to hear something other than your flirting. People like me and Betsy."

"Shephard," Max returned. "Do you realize that Betsy is a shotgun and not capable of feeling emotion?"

"Do you realize that you're about to feel the open end of Betsy's barrel," Shephard countered.

"Can you two please shut up," the woman shouts.

"Maybe," both men state, their undertone screaming that the answer was obvious.

"You're not going to, are you?"

"No."

"Well then, start listening," a sharp masculine voice snaps. Silence fills the room. "Thank you. Now, as I was fixing to say, I just got a mission from Sanderson. He wants us up on the bridge in thirty. Finish what you're doing, get your civilian clothes packed, and make your way up there ASAP. Clear?"

Everyone in the room stood up quickly, snapped a salute, and shouted "Yes sir."

"That's what I thought. Now get packed. I've got a feeling we're going to have another adventure pretty soon." All subordinates dropped their salutes and went to packing their duffle bags. One of the only women in the room came up to the apparent commanding officer with a look of concern etched on her face.

"So, Corporal," she began. "What's the General want?"

"Emily," the officer addressed the subordinate. "Please refer to me by my name. I don't want to be known as 'Corporal' all my life."

"Yes, Corporal," she joked, then chuckled. The corporal rolled his eyes at the joke.

"Ha ha, very funny, _Captain_," he returned, starting to chuckle himself. "I told you a thousand times already, my name is Robert."

"Oh, alright. Fine, _Robert_—I digress. What's Sanderson want, anyways?"

"Well," Robert began. "He says that a little birdie told him that there were some humans on this planet below us. He never went into specifics, but I've got a feeling that he wants us to go down, disguise ourselves, and set up a base of operations there. Make sure that none of them get hurt."

"And that means," Emily began, hoping that her commander would give in and spew the plan, which he always did. Robert gave a smile which could only be described as adventurous.

"Pack your bags, Captain Emily Johnson, because we're going topside."

* * *

A/N: Well, that certainly had a nice bang to it. Sorry that last chapter was so short, but I really just want these first two chapters to explain the history of this next chapter.

I will try to put up a poll for the next section (or "Record Log") by around 5 or 6 PM Central Time tomorrow. I want to know where in the RWBY timeline you want me to start the next chapter: before Volume 1, during Volume 1, between Volumes 1 and 2, during Volume 2, or after Volume 2. I want your honest to God opinion, so think long and hard. KEEP IN MIND: I may or may not use this input, just giving y'all a heads up. I'm also looking for OC's, as I need around 20 (I have a handful already thought up, but someone [panzer hunter] was kind enough to give me one ahead of time [P.S. I won't use this OC yet, panzer, so don't get mad at me if he's not put in for the next couple of "Record Logs"]).

Alright, I think I just covered everything, so I will see you all next chapter.


	3. Record 2: Final Drop

BY THE WAY, before I continue on with the story, I must warn you of two things: 1) I have a poll up which will last for two more days, and 2) I am currently in school, thus hampering my ability to post often massively, so BEAR WITH ME. And my house is being stalked by burglars Hell-bent on either driving me insane or stealing my laptop (as if it would make them millions).

Anyways, special thanks to panzer hunter for donating an OC for me to use in this story. Fair warning, panzer: as I said, I won't use him just yet, but I might use your idea of referencing to him later on.

I must warn every reader reading this story: there will be a massive amount of crude humor in this story, along with heavy fighting scenes, slight flirting, shotgun-obsessed soldiers, slight profanity (mainly RWBY timeline, but other OC's might spew a curse or two here and there), and heavy references to the supernatural. Just a fair warning.

Quick disclaimer: Sadly, Monty Oum has died, but that does not mean that I even can own his precious creation (I mean, have you seen me and things that say HANDLE WITH CARE written all over them?). And I don't go gaming that often in the first place, so me owning Halo would be a big mistake on Bungie's part.

With all that said, let's get to the next part of our little journey…

* * *

Halo: The Next Generation

Record Log II: Revolution and Redemption

Part 1: Final Drop

* * *

(Robert James)

Ten minutes after Robert's conversation with Emily, everyone had their bags packed and ready for a void-to-topside drop, and were on the bridge. Fourteen young soldiers in all, most of which were rookies and unknown to him. Pacing impatiently in front of the soldiers was none other than General Thomas Sanderson. Concern was always etched on the General's battle-worn face, but what was bothersome to the young Corporal was the worry and even fear wrinkling his commander's face. The fleet commander usually never showed this much emotion in public, and Robert knew that something was bound to go downhill.

"Corporal James," Sanderson began. "Thank you for bringing your entire team this soon. I trust you packed all your belongings?" Robert nodded an affirmative.

"I take it we're going to be a while, sir," the young Corporal asked.

"Yes you will, Corporal. As you probably mentioned to your teammates, you all will be going topside. We will not provide transportation this time, as we don't want to risk war with these species."

"_These_ species? As in more than one intelligent species inhabits the planet already?"

"Yes: humans and another breed of human with animal body parts and enhanced hearing, sight, and smell. Now listen up:

"Our radar has detected a fleet of ships coming our way. These ships are Guardian technology, but are not our own ships. I have the unfortunate feeling that they will not only attempt to set up a base of operations here, but try to destroy this fleet as well. Thus being said, you and your team will drop from the hangar bays from this position. You are to defend the two species on this planet and ensure their survival. Do not tell them about us until you deem it necessary. I have given the order for all forces to see you through the atmosphere then make like bats out of Hell. Do I make myself clear?"

All fourteen soldiers snapped a salute to their commanding officer. A collective "Yes sir" echoed from the soldiers. The group broke their salute and made their way to the appropriate hangar bay, leaving the Corporal, Captain, and General behind to discuss the situation further.

"So let me get this straight," Corporal James began. "We will commence an atmospheric drop, try not to cause a ruckus, and destroy any and all threats nearby. Once we reach topside, we are to disguise ourselves as one of them, ensure that the Neo-Forerunners won't set up a base of operations here, and keep the Flood and Hellborn from making an attack on this planet. All of this while concealing our identities and species from them until we deem it necessary. Did I get all of that right?"

"Negative, Corporal," Sanderson corrected. "You forgot one simple factor: you will not be able to resume radio contact with us once you reach topside. That being said, the locals _are_ your reinforcements, so don't try to radio us. And be extremely careful, and use violence as a dead-last resort; be diplomatic in your endeavors. I have a gut feeling that these locals aren't your average villagers."

"And if these villagers happen to be hostile," Captain Johnson asked, obviously concerned.

"Then get creative, Captain," was the response.

"Do we know the language they speak," the Corporal demanded.

"They may as well speak the same language we do, but they may not have such advanced technology as we do. They probably don't even have a similar culture to ours." A question lingered in the air, and the Corporal was the first to ask it.

"What if the rebels just so happened to have gotten here first?"

"Then take them out and rescue any survivors of both native species ASAP. If that's not possible, then save yourselves."

"I understand, sir," both soldiers replied, then turned to join their fellow corpsmen. Before they could get too far, Sanderson stopped them.

"Corporal, Captain," he called, stopping both in question in their tracks. The corpsmen turned to face their General. "It's been a Hell of a ride, hasn't it?"

"Well," Johnson began. "Between all the mishaps, insanity, and adventures, I guess it was a pretty fun time in service."

"Yeah," James agreed. "It was pretty good while it lasted. It's been a great honor to serve under a great General such as yourself. I guess you were like a father to us all."

"Well then," Sanderson smiled. "I guess I did my job right then." The two commanders nodded their compliments to their superior officer. "Give 'em Hell, you got that?"

"Affirmative," the soldiers grinned, then turned around and proceeded to walk out of the room.

(Hangar bay 7, Saratoga Beta-class flagship)

The two commanding officers finally made it to the hangar bay. The other twelve soldiers were crowded around a series of tubes that led to nowhere. Due to the size of the tubes, Robert could safely assume that they were going to drop from vacuum-force missile tubes. He figured that Captain Johnson would be uncomfortable with such a hazardous drop from such a small space to a potential battlefield. 'What am I thinking,' he thought. 'Even Colby wouldn't fare well in those things, and he's the smallest and youngest of us. If my brother can't handle those, we're all going to die very shortly.'

A small, green-glowing figure flickered into existence on his right shoulder. Saevio, his AI unit, was a brilliant AI, but he tended to have a temper that could match Robert's.

"I don't want to say I'm scared," Saevio mentioned. "But I'm not too entirely fond of this idea."

Another AI, a red one, popped out from the shoulder of Lieutenant Joe Crowley, the team's investigator. His AI, Sherlock, was the smartest AI on the team, oldest surviving AI, and assuredly the only AI to have been designed and created by its assigned soldier.

"Judging by the design and position of these torpedo tubes," Sherlock analyzed. "I would say that the plan is to utilize the vacuum of space to commence a topside drop. Without the proper armor, we could be pulled apart by the lack of pressure in space, gunned down by the enemy fleet exiting light speed in ninety seconds, burn up as we enter the atmosphere, or crushed upon contact with the surface. Thus being said, I would say that we have a survival chance of only five percent, twenty should we drop this instant, and fifty should we not encounter the local species upon touchdown—."

A third AI, Sherman, came out in a yellow hologram.

"You know, Sherlock," the yellow AI called out. "You really know how to make an adventure sound like the world's fixing to end this very second. You ever realize that?"

"I just state the facts and put out possible outcomes as they are," the red AI countered. "If the fact is life-threatening, then so be it. If the chances of survival are near zero, much like they are now, I will be the first to let you know."

"Could you two stop your complaining," Saevio groaned.

"Wait," Robert interrupted. "Hold on a second. Sherlock, did you just say that enemy forces are approaching in _ninety seconds_?"

"Give or take, yes," the AI replied, obviously confused with Robert's quick and violent reaction.

"Eternity-seven squadron, suit up," the Corporal yelled, stirring all his subordinates into action. "We've got a minute or less to suit up, get in a pod, and launch. Move like today's your last day."

This kicked their brains into high gear. Sadly, Sherlock was off by twenty seconds due to his temporary connection to the Saratoga's radar system, as the ships came in just as the crew had just suited up and climbed into a torpedo launch tube.

"Okay, so maybe I was off," Sherlock admitted. Robert rolled his eyes, then faced forward in his tube.

"We launch on my mark," he warned, then silently ordered Saevio to override the torpedo control mainframe.

"Corporal," Robert heard Captain Emily over his intercom. "I'm not sure about this. Calypso keeps saying she's scared, and I'm starting to agree with her." The Corporal hesitated, uncertain about his own luck.

"Just sit tight, Captain," he finally got out. "We'll make it out of this alive. Besides, even though he won't admit it, Saevio is, like, really tempted to flip out right now."

"Am not," the AI argued.

"I'm scared," Calypso shivered over the intercom. Robert could feel the pang of guilt boiling within his chest, and could feel it multiplied through Saevio's own emotions.

"Yeah," Sherman admitted. "I am, too."

"Same here," Sherlock whimpered.

"Saevio," Robert spoke to his artificial counterpart. "You ready?" Saevio chirped in response.

"Ready," Captain Emily shivered, fear flowing like a river through the intercom to Robert's already nervous heart, and he began to doubt his decision slightly.

"Here goes nothing," Robert muttered, then snapped to his senses and barked the order: "Fire."

The torpedo pipes opened up to reveal the pale blue atmosphere of the planet beneath them. As expected, the vacuum of space pulled them from inside the chamber and launched them into the raging warzone below them.

If there were one term for the battle that surrounded them on all sides aside from directly beneath them, it was the one term that could describe the Apocalypse: Hell. Superheated metal bullets, explosive torpedoes, and plasma beams left ships from all around them and targeted other ships of similar proportions. Small fighters flew out of the hangar they'd just left, headed to suicidal dogfights just to keep the fourteen of them safe until they'd landed. Small trails of turbulence followed them as they entered the planet's atmosphere at speeds that could almost rival that of a fighter. Debris from the battle was already littering their path, and the battle had only begun not a minute ago.

The falling soldiers used their side arms to clear away the smaller debris, using their jet packs to avoid the larger bits of debris (except for Shephard, who was using his shotgun to blast away debris as if he had an infinite number of rounds). They picked up speed rapidly, and it seemed as though their drop would go uneventful.

"Corporal," Saevio suddenly came over the intercom. "Bogies on my radar. On our six. Looks like half a dozen or more. Looks like we haven't gone unnoticed after all."

Small flashes of light flickered in the corner of his eye. 'Just my luck,' he silently commented. Knowing his luck, he started praying that the rookies would make it out alive.

"Evasive maneuvers," the Corporal ordered. More enemy fighters appeared on his radar. "Heads up, we've got more bogies. Watch your sixes."

Their drop continued like this until right before they reached the planet's outer atmosphere: avoid dogfights, debris, shells, and fighters all while maintaining terminal velocity. Around sixteen hundred yards from the outer atmosphere, an enemy cruiser came out of nowhere as if attempting to catch them mid-drop. The Corporal instantly began to sweat.

"Pull up, _pull up_, PULL UP," he shouted into his radio, activating his jetpack and altering his course enough to avoid the cruiser.

"Bogie on my six," one of the rookies screamed. "I can't shake 'em—." Static instantly cut them off as said bogie shot Private Shirley out of the air.

"Shephard, take 'em out," Robert nearly shouted, refusing to lose another Private.

"Rodger that," he heard the Sergeant respond, then a shotgun blast nearly deafened him. The bogie on his radar instantly disappeared. "That'll teach 'em."

"My pack just went critical," another Private stated, sounding more angry than frightened. In fact, it seemed as though he intentionally shut his pack off.

"Hang in there, Private," Captain Emily responded. "Try to angle yourself—."

"No," the Private cut her off, and Robert could hear him pull out a ship-breaker grenade. "That won't be necessary, Captain. I've got this in the bag."

"Private, wait," Robert tried, but to no avail.

"Corporal, if you were in this position, would you do this for your teammates?" Robert was shocked, but didn't respond. "They took my friend—my best friend—and now they're going to pay. Big time."

* * *

All seemed peaceful in Vale. Of course, police sirens were going off, but otherwise there was peace. Unbeknownst to the people of Remnant, all Hell was about to break loose from a very small cage.

Right above the outskirts of the town, there was a massive explosion, followed by several pieces of debris falling directly towards one of the numerous city squares around the city. These large chunks seemed unnatural, mostly due to their identical coordination towards the same spot. They were traveling faster than the fastest fighter on the production line and gaining speed. The debris didn't even heat up going through the planet's atmosphere. Something was off about these specks of debris…

* * *

"Slow to terminal velocity," Robert ordered, opening his arms for maximum air resistance and air friction. He could feel the plates in his armor heating up and cooling off simultaneously as he positioned his body.

"We're at thirty-three thousand feet, travelling at Mach Three," Lieutenant Crowley muttered into his radio. "At this rate, we should be at the surface in approximately ten seconds. I have a bad feeling that we should've opened our parachutes two seconds ago."

"We'll be fine, Lieutenant. Trust me on this one; I've done this enough times to outmatch the General in this. Open your chutes on my mark."

"I'm telling you, this is suicide—."

"That was an order, Lieutenant."

"Sorry for arguing with you, Corporal," Captain Emily shuttered. "But I'm siding with Crowley on this one. This isn't just a suicidal maneuver; this _is_ suicide."

"_Mark_." Fourteen parachutes opened, and fourteen parachutes snapped off. The parachutes slowed their descent and guided their course away from the human city on his radar, serving the purpose Robert intended. For once in his life, it seemed as though Robert's plan was going to work. Knowing his luck, this was probably not going to last, but he savored the moment while it lasted.

"Well, _that_ did absolutely _nothing_," Colby yelled sarcastically. "What do we do now?!"

"Reverse your jetpack's thrusters when you're ready to land, but don't go full power," the older brother ordered. He knew this maneuver all too well. If they didn't give enough thrust, they'd shatter as soon as they hit the surface of the planet. If they gave too much thrust, one of several things could happen, but the worst that could happen would be them being spotted on rebel radar. 'Hope this works,' Robert prayed silently, then activated the reverse thrusters on his jetpacks.

As suspected, everything went off the cliff upon landing. Their landing didn't go unnoticed, as their speed was just barely under supersonic. Robert was expecting an enemy dropship as well, as Saevio picked up radar signals from a rebel cruiser. Thankfully, they were far enough away from the human city that any radar systems they had—should they even have radar systems as advanced as theirs—would not detect them. The only issue would be those nearby the crash site, rebels who would undoubtedly choose to pursue them, and hostile creatures.

Less than five seconds before impact, Robert righted his vertical alignment, proceeding to do a somersault of sorts before impact. He stopped his tumble just before his heavily-armored boots slammed into the earth beneath him. As the force behind his fall pushed him down, he allowed his knees to bend, essentially crouching upon impact. His teammates—recognizing this strategy—proceeded to do the same, sending a cloudy ring of dirt flying, along with a small shockwave and a thundering echo of sound from the impact.

It took a few seconds, but he and his small army recovered quickly as though they had only fallen from a lower branch of a tree. They stripped off their half-ton armor to reveal civilian clothes, attempting to hide among the humans who lived here.

"Well," Major Colonel Arthur Phylarchus muttered. "That was unusual. Definitely high up, definitely scary, I'll give you that much. All in all, let's _not_ do that _ever_ again."

"I second that notion," the Corporal's brother shuttered. "That wasn't even suicidal. That was, like, suicide _squared_. I'm surprised we even survived that. You know what, next time I'll just fly down on my own time, no thank you very much."

"You two have no sense of adventure," Shephard joked, obviously thrilled that he got an adrenaline rush and a reason to use his shotgun hilariously named Betsy. "Don't focus on the fear next time. Focus on the freedom of it all. It makes you feel like you're flying, not falling—."

"And _that_ right there is what I'm afraid of," Arthur interrupted. "Flying and I do _not_ mix well."

"You have a death wish or something," the young Lieutenant Colonel growled.

"You sayin' you want to kill me, boy," Shephard threatened, his Southwestern accent flying.

"At this point, yes. I would very much love to take Leonidas to your head."

"Go ahead, punk. Make my day—."

"_GUYS_," Robert yelled, threatening to betray their location. "Can we PLEASE try NOT to kill each other while we're here? I've already lost two soldiers today, and I don't need a third. OR A DEAD BROTHER." He huffed in frustration, turning to the group.

"Alright," he stated. "On our way down, I found a human city about two kilometers from our location. We should sneak in, integrate ourselves into their society, and hope that the Neo-Forerunners don't try anything drastic while we're here. Grab your armor, wrap your bags, holster your weapons of mass destruction, and let's move out. And please obey the authorities; two casualties is two casualties too many and I don't want another." He then picked up his armor, linked it together around his bag of belongings, took the now-armored bag, and marched out into the forest they'd landed under the cover of the night. Emily walked up to the two violent subordinates, arms crossed.

"Wow," she bemused sarcastically. "I'm really impressed. You've managed to drive Corporal insane with your bickering. Well done, you two. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and calm him down. If I find out you idiots cause any more insanity today, you'll be apologizing at the end of my Magnum. Have I gotten that through those thick skulls of yours? Good, because I don't have the time to deal with you two." She then proceeded to follow her commanding officer, armor and bag in hand. Arthur buckled his strange-looking armor to his bag then turned to his subordinates.

"Next time," he warned. "Try not to let the locals or the rebels know about our location. I'd like to stay here in one piece, thank you very much." He then began to walk in the direction of his commander and friend as everyone else began to wrap their armor around their personal belongings.

* * *

A/N: Well, that took a while to do. While I was typing this chapter up, I've been overloaded with assignment after assignment with a side dish of tests, quizzes, and other school-related paraphernalia. I seriously hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Okay, so after the soldiers crash-landed, I put in a movie quote (albeit with a few minor modifications) from a famous star from around the '80's and '90's.

MINOR EDIT: I originally wanted to put in sixteen soldiers and kill off two rookies, but since that would leave three teams of four and a pair left over, I decided to lower it to fourteen instead. Speaking of me killing off two rookies, DON'T WORRY because I plan on doing something with them sometime in the future, of which time I have not decided on and will not dispose yet.

HELP WANTED: If you have an idea for an OC character, LET ME KNOW. As I've probably already mentioned, panzer hunter has already offered me one, and I already have an idea on where I want to put this fella. If you have an OC that you want to donate, throw me a review. It's not like I can read your minds. *attempts to read reader's minds* *fails miserably*. Nope. It's just not happenin'.

Alright, with that note stapled to the board, I will see you all in the next chapter, when the crew gets their first taste of Remnant and human civilization. Peace.


	4. Record 2: A Taste of Remnant

Fair warning: I have stuff to do this week. Mainly school-related stuff, but I have a lot of it.

I'm just so excited right now. A little less than a month, and we're already on the second act of our story, Revolution and Redemption. What's making me bouncing off the walls is the fact that the twelve remaining heroes are currently in Remnant, basically just off the coast of Vale, surrounded on all sides by Grimm and rebels. I can't contain my joy.

To all RWBY fans eager to see some of your favorite characters in this story, just be patient. They will be showing up shortly. VERY shortly, as a matter of fact.

Grab some popcorn, readers, because this is about to go from interesting to thrill ride (I seriously hope). Chances of excitement are skyrocketing quickly.

* * *

Halo: The Next Generation

Record Log II: Revolution and Redemption

Part 2: A Taste of Remnant

* * *

It took a couple of minutes, but Emily finally caught up with her commander, Robert James. He seemed to be frustrated with something, but fear shone through more. Knowing him and stress, she knew he had to talk to someone before he lost his cool. As if sensing her presence, he slowed down slightly, allowing her to catch up to his speedy gait. The sun hadn't risen yet, but they'd been trained to see in the dark, so it wasn't difficult for her to avoid trees on her way to Robert.

"Well," she began, uncertain how to bring the topic. "Everyone's packing up and following. They shouldn't be too far behind."

"Good," he grunted, focused on the path in front of them. She could tell by his tone that he was more frustrated than afraid.

"You sound a little upset," her tone implied worry, something he picked up on easily. "What's on your mind?"

"I think you know what's on my mind," again with that frustrated tone. She knew him all too well, but even she couldn't pick up on what was going on in his head.

"I'm thinking that he's upset with Sergeant Colonel Colby James and Sergeant Shephard Jackson," Saevio interrupted, oblivious to how obvious that statement was. "He's probably stressed out with the fact that he lost two Privates today, along with the fact that his brother and weapons expert are fighting harder than normal."

"Thank you for summing that up, Saevio," Robert sighed, both annoyed and embarrassed by his Artificial Intelligence. "But you missed one little bit of info."

"You mean you're worried about how the humans and Faunus species will treat us, or are you worried about fitting in to their society?"

"_Both_, Saevio. I'm worried about both. To be honest, though, we shouldn't have a problem with either, so that's a plus. What I'm mainly worried about is Shephard and Colby. They've been bickering ever since they first met, and it's been getting worse since."

"It's just testosterone," a familiar voice sounded. Upon turning around, Robert could see that the source was none other than his sidekick and friend Major Colonel Arthur Phylarchus. "They're trying to prove who the alpha-male is. They'll get over it, I promise. Provided they don't kill each other first, that is."

"Wow," the Corporal bemused sarcastically. "That was so comforting, Arthur. So much so, in fact, that I really feel like keeling over and dying."

"Please don't, Corporal. That would make my day, and I'd like to have that day be in battle, sometime _after_ I'm dead." Robert laughed rather loudly, glad to see his friend still alive and kicking.

"Good to see you too, Arthur," he laughed. After he calmed down enough to make sense of things, he looked out into the distance. "We should be nearing the village I'd found after sunrise. If we quicken our pace, maybe less."

"You want me to tell the others," Emily awaited the order, desiring a chance to yell at the two competing Sergeants. She never got the chance.

"Nah," Robert breathed. "I'm actually thinking we should slow down. I get the uneasy feeling that we should stick together." He then stopped, pulling off his heavy, armored backpack and set it down in front of a nearby log, which he sat on. Emily and Arthur followed suit. It took five minutes for the small group to get an idea on the team's location.

"Did you guys hear that," Emily asked the two soldier-boys after hearing a loud scream from the direction of the team.

"Sure did," Robert agreed, standing up and pulling out his turbulence rifle (WEAPONS NOTE: a turbulence rifle looks similar to an assault rifle from the Halo games, but fires specially designed bullets with special grooves down the spine of the bullet at supersonic speed, making this weapon a force to be reckoned with). Arthur had a look of confusion on his face, slumped over on his seat and staring at his friend.

"I'm sorry," the 17-year-old mused. "I'm confused. I guess I fell asleep, but why are we standing up again?" Emily face-palmed while Robert sighed in frustration.

"THE TEAM'S IN TROUBLE AND IF WE DON'T HELP THEM THEY'RE GONNA DIE," he yelled, making Arthur fall off his seat and waking him and every other creature in the area up in the process.

"Alright, alright, I got it, I got it, don't go yelling at me, I got it," Arthur stammered. "Time to go to war again. Gotcha. I seriously hate my life right now, but I gotcha."

"Hate your life while getting a move on. We've got to move."

* * *

After backtracking for two minutes, they reached a clearing in the forest. Their teammates were in the middle, surrounded by black, red-eyed creatures that looked suspiciously like Hellborn. Some of them looked like massive human-dog hybrids with boney plates lining their spines and heads, while others looked like oversized bears with boney plates covering their heads and ivory spines arching out of their backs. As if not terrifying enough, they had vicious growls and roars as if to add to the underlying effect.

"What the Hell is that thing," he could hear his young brother screaming.

"I don't know, but it sure don't look like a barbeque," Shephard joked, flashing his shotgun around in the process.

"Whatever you do," Joseph Crowley warned. "Don't aim for the boney parts. Those parts are stronger than a carbon-iron alloy bullet." This gave Robert an idea. Since he only used carbon-steel alloy bullets, he was positive that he could crack those hard turtle shells. He raised his turbulence rifle, aimed for the nearest bear-like creature, and prepared for the worst.

Surprisingly enough, he was right: the bullet, stronger than most and traveling at supersonic speed, broke through the beast's boney shell and tore a hole in its gut, killing it instantly. Getting an idea, Arthur grabbed one of his sharpest blades and threw it; the blade lodged itself in between two armor plates and shattered the creature's spine. Both creatures toppled over and… _began to evaporate into a puff of black smoke_. Robert's eyes widened in confusion as Saevio began to analyze the biology of the ever-so strange creatures. The analysis surprised all of them.

"Well, it seems as though these things are made of that black stuff, and fade away immediately after death. Bring me closer to one of 'em. I want to see just what that stuff is."

Robert tried to comply, but the creatures kept getting in the way. Each one that got too close was either gunned down or stabbed by a flying knife. One of the creatures even got so lucky as to get both bashed by Colby's shield (appropriately named Leonidas) and blown to smithereens by Sherman's 'Betsy' rifle. By the end of the scuffle, the clearing was littered with the dead creatures' decaying/evaporating carcasses. No injuries were dealt to the twelve Guardians, but said foreigners were breathing slightly heavy, mostly due to the proximity of the strange beasts. Only seconds after the battle did Saevio have an answer for them.

"It appears that these creatures are composed of a supernatural dark essence—."

"That's strange," Sherlock interrupted. "I'm getting a strange frequency coming from the direction we were supposed to be headed in. A communication frequency, to be more precise."

"Tell 'em they can't land here," Shephard ordered, not even waiting to hear what else the tiny but powerful bundle of algorithms had to say.

"If I had a physical body, I would slaughter you on the spot. I swear I would."

"Go ahead. Make my day—."

"Can we _please_, PLEASE, quit BICKERING about EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING," Robert shouted, tired of all the insanity this adventure had caused. He turned to Shephard. "Stop taking everything as a threat, or I swear I will TEAR your damn head off." To Sherlock. "We've all got AI's; you don't have to be the alpha. I don't give a damn if you created all the others here or not, but I'm so sick and tired of you chatting nonchalant as if you know every little piece of info. Either SHUT UP or I will force you to." To the rest of his team. "Don't even THINK about pushing me today. I'm tired, I'm stressed, I'm worn out, I haven't gotten a break since our last little adventure, and I just want a bed to rest in, a boxing bag, and SOMETHING to calm my nerves down. PLEASE, just don't push me. Did I make my point clear? Good. End of subject. End of topic. End of rant. End of rage. THE END." Robert then turned around—back to the direction he was originally walking—and marched off once again, hoping that nothing crazy happened again.

"What was that all about," Colby wondered dumbly, clearly not thinking before he spoke. Emily groaned in frustration before marching off to find her overworked leader.

"How about you take this one," she huffed to Arthur before she reentered the forest. Arthur huffed himself, turning to the group.

"Well," the young man began. "What do you want to know? I seriously doubt that any of you will listen to me, but go ahead and try me."

* * *

Robert was angry enough as is, but his teammates constantly tested his temper and pushed his buttons as if it were a game, whether they were trying to or not, and he'd had enough. He came to the logs they'd found earlier and sat in front of his armored backpack, sighing at his luck. He had no idea why things like this happened to him alone. He had no clue what it was that kept him stressed out. He wondered if this is what General Sanderson felt this way all the time. He shuddered at the thought of leading such a large army protecting such a large nation scattered across such a large galaxy.

He heard footsteps coming from the direction of the clearing, and looked up to see Emily. He didn't really want to talk at the moment, but he knew that Emily would be persistent and probably successful in calming him down. She sat down next to him and huffed, implying that she was angry beyond a shadow of a doubt, but he didn't flinch. Correction: he sighed in utter defeat, knowing full and well that she was too angry to help him relax.

Minutes later, they heard shouting, and a high-tech pistol went off, indicating that Arthur had had enough of the team's bickering.

"Sounds like fun out there," Robert commented, hoping to lighten Emily's mood.

"Yep," was the response. "Sure does." A minute or so of silence passed between the two of them.

"This has been one heck of a ride," the Corporal tried again.

"I think it's been more of a fight for survival so far," his subordinate muttered. "Especially with those red-eyed things we fought back there."

"Yeah, I guess we could all use a vacation," he laughed. She chuckled at his words of military wisdom. There was still something lingering in their minds. Something about what Sherlock had said earlier.

"So," Emily changed the subject after the laughter subsided. "What did Sherlock say? Something about a communications frequency coming from… that city you say you found, was it?"

"I believe so," Robert agreed. "Saevio, could you search for nearby communication frequencies for me?"

"Sure thing," the AI responded. Seconds later, the AI appeared in a holographic form, along with a holographic list of three frequencies. "Found three. The top one's ours, the other two are foreign."

"Pinpoint the middle one," Emily ordered. "Calypso, find the other." A violet AI appeared on Emily's shoulder.

"Will do, Captain," Calypso complied. Moments later, a green square and a violet square flickered into existence. Both maps shifted into orbs; the green orb pointed to a yellow dot and a blue dot less than a millimeter apart, and the violet ball showed a small pink ship hovering over the orb. "You might not like what I've found, Captain."

"Saevio, you got anything yet," Robert questioned.

"Yes," the green figure responded. "As a matter of fact, I do." The green map zoomed in on the two dots, showing a city between the two. The blue dot transformed into a SPARTAN helmet while the yellow dot shrunk and grew three rings surrounding it. "The blue helmet is us, and the yellow point with three rings is the source of the signal. The city in between is obviously our target destination. This signal, once I decoded it, has shown me at least ninety terabytes of data on this planet: military strategies, weapons, legal adult ages, info on the creatures we encountered, and even a handful of combat training academies. It seems as though this planet isn't too far from our own civilization after all."

"Tell me," Robert demanded. The AI's figure nodded.

"The locals here call this planet 'Remnant', mainly due to the moon's destroyed figure. Their technology isn't too very far from our own, but they haven't made it to the space age yet. Giving them a technological push is out of the question because they don't have the same resources as we do, but the only reason they haven't made it to space yet is because they have yet to look up to the stars as we had. Once they look up from the bloodshed, they will start trying to reach the heavens.

"Those creatures, according to the people who live here, are known as 'creatures of Grimm', and can appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and strengths. These 'Grimm' continuously crowd around areas filled to the brim with negative emotions such as anger, hatred, sadness, fear, et cetera. They were present ever since humans on this planet came into existence, and the only thing that saved the early humans was a special element known as 'Dust', a powerful energy-filled crystal and dust which propels most of this planet's technology. This 'Dust' comes in only four basic forms, all of which can be combined to make more powerful types. The inhabitants also use this energy propellant in bullets—metal alloys like our carbon-alloy guns, bullets, and other paraphernalia—along with weaving into their clothes, infusing it directly with their bodies, and even in its raw, crude form. All in all, this is their power source; you take this stuff away, you take away their chances of survival.

"The city we were headed to is known as 'Vale', one of only four nations here. 'Atlas' is a military powerhouse; 'Vale' is not only closest to our location, but is home to a couple of combat training academies. The human inhabitants here do have a bit of a bad habit of discriminating against the Faunus species, who tried to make it stop via peaceful protests but failed and began criminal activities to get their way. This group of criminals is known as the 'White Fang'. KEEP IN MIND that, while all members of this organization are Faunus species, not all Faunas are members of this criminal organization.

"The society in general is not that much different from ours, so we shouldn't have a problem with fitting in. The only issue would be the currency—the 'lien'—but it shouldn't be too hard to find a job and get some money here. The legal age of adulthood here is around eighteen, but the police won't come after us for getting a place to stay without a legal guardian." Robert nodded an affirmative.

"So Calypso, what did you find," Emily demanded. The violet AI nodded before continuing with what she found. The violet map zoomed in on the ship hovering over the planet. The ship itself turned a violent shade of red.

"The other signal doesn't originate from this planet, that's for certain," Calypso began. "When I decoded the frequency, it appeared to be of Guardian origin, but it wasn't ours. In fact, the signal's frequency more accurately resembled that of a Neo-Forerunner flagship."

"You mean that the rebels are still here," Saevio assumed. Calypso shook her head.

"No, they made a slip-space jump thirty seconds ago. Before they left, however, I was able to detect their hangar doors opening and dropping something off. Whatever it was that they dropped off, I couldn't pick up on it, so I think it's safe and/or appropriate to assume that the rebels are trying the same tactic we did."

"Told you so," a familiar voice came from the direction of the clearing they'd just left minutes ago. Turning his head, he saw that the rest of the team was mobile again. This was his only chance to debrief them on the current events.

"Get in closer and set your gear down, soldiers," Robert ordered. "We have some important information, and this is our only opportunity to debrief you before we enter the city." His subordinates followed his orders to the letter. Emily stood next to her commander, uncertain how the rest of the team would take the news about the rebel forces.

"Alright, now that you're all situated where we want you, we'll get started.

"While we were over here, I had Saevio search for any communication signals nearby, and he found two signals apart from our own. He decoded one of them, Calypso decoded the other. The first signal, the one coming from the city I'd found earlier, had quite a large amount of data within its code. What we found out from this code is vital if we are to succeed in our mission.

"This planet is known as Remnant, mainly because of its shattered moon. Only four nations exist on this planet; Vale is the nation we are closest to. Their technology is similar to ours to an extent: they have not yet reached the space age, mainly because they are too busy dealing with discrimination and those creatures we fought back there. Said beasts are known as the creatures of Grimm, and it's best to remain positive when near them because they like to huddle around negativity.

"The energy source these peoples use is a peculiar element known to these people as Dust. This element comes in four basic forms and can be fused together to form more powerful versions. The inhabitants of this place normally use these elements to power their technology and to fight the Grimm. Personal favorite, I think using this Dust in bullets and alloys is the wisest idea.

"Their society isn't that much different from our own, the only differences lying in currency and discrimination. The currency they use is known as lien, though to be honest I have no idea how much it's worth—."

"Its value is almost identical to our cash values," Saevio informed.

"Thanks, Saevio. Anyways, the legal age of an adult is eighteen years old, but the police won't come and get us should we find a roof over our heads, which is why I think that we should find jobs, a good place to stay, and legal identification.

"I should warn you about the discrimination here. The humans here aren't particularly fond of the other species known as Faunas. The Faunus tried to get somewhere with peaceful protests and boycotts, but they switched to criminal activities when they got nowhere. Keep in mind that all members of this band of criminals—known as the White Fang—are all Faunas, but not all Faunas are members of this organization. All in all, we should play it safe and not get involved in this conflict unless absolutely necessary."

"What about the other signal," Shephard demanded. Robert sighed.

"Well, Shephard," he began. "You were right about one thing: that other signal was, indeed, a Neo-Forerunner flagship. What's worse is that, when Calypso was decoding it earlier, she found that the ship's hangar bay had opened and shut before the ship itself made a slip-space jump. To where, we don't know, but I have a feeling that the rebels had the same idea that we had. Thus being said, I think we should display caution in our actions. If we give away our true identities or our location, God forbid they find out both, then whoever or whatever they dropped will have a higher chance of finding and killing us. Keep an eye out for anything unusual, stay safe, and don't do anything stupid. We should reach Vale by…"

"Around lunchtime," Saevio informed.

"Alright then," Shephard spoke up. "So once we get there, we keep our radios off, heads down, and try to get jobs, a roof over our heads, and whatever else we need to fit in—."

"Fitting in won't be an issue," Calypso corrected. "Their identification system is exactly like our own, along with their currency system, so the only thing we would need to do is to find a place to rest and jobs. Saevio also found combat academies built to train men and women alike to fight the Grimm. We should try to get into one of them, and I have just the one in mind."

"Which is…?" Colby trailed off. Calypso smiled.

"The academy is called Beacon, and it doesn't require a transcript necessarily, but we—you, I mean—will have to pass a difficult entrance exam to get in. What it is, I don't know and I don't really feel like hacking the mainframe of the school to find out. So… what do you think we should do?"

Shephard, Joseph, Colby, and Colonel Lieutenant Max Strasbourg all stepped up to the plate. Their AIs: Sherman, Sherlock, Ares, and Cryo, respectively, all agreed. Saevio and Calypso were indifferent, along with their respective commanders. Colonel Toby McSumners and his AI, Pyro, weren't too entirely fond of the idea but were willing to go with the plan. The rookies—Thomas Peters, William Jackson, Sarah Washington, Emma Washington, and James Tucker—were nothing short of enthusiastic about the plan, this being their first legitimate mission alongside the experienced team.

"Then it's settled," Emily finalized. "We find a place to live, get registered with the police, and try getting in to this 'Beacon Academy'."

The team got up, grabbed their bags and weapons, and started to walk in the direction of Vale.

"For the record," Sherlock interjected. "I just found that they would call you 'Huntsmen' and 'Huntresses' after you graduate."

"You know what," Sherman began to chastise the older AI. "I'm just going to be blunt here, but NO ONE CARES! It's all the same, right? If so, then why should we care?"

"Um, because it would help us to fit in? Why else would I say it?"

"Good point…" The team marched along the somewhat beaten path to Vale.

* * *

A/N: That was so difficult to write. I originally wanted a bit of a verbal fight or something like that to amplify the underlying drama by, like, at least a thousand.

**OC'S WANTED**: If you have an OC idea, let me know. Send me a review, or PM me. I really don't want to find out what happens when a reader doesn't get a chance to submit an OC. If you have an OC trying to hop out of your head and into my story, let him out. I might use him, I might not, but since I'm slightly Autistic he/she/it/they might get popped into my story one way or another.

**TELL ME HOW YOU LIKE THIS STORY!** If you want something specific (except for lesbian/gay pairings, non-cannon pairings, sex, et cetera) to happen, let me know in a review/PM. Same goes with something I missed (i.e. spelling/grammar errors, wrong OC personality, et cetera). I really, really need to know these kinds of things, so if you would please do so for me, I would really appreciate it.

Alright, I think that about sums it up. I will see you all in the next chapter, where _this time_, our precious squadron of Guardians will get their first legitimate taste of Vale (and maybe Beacon, if I feel in the mood for it). If you've ran out of popcorn/soda, grab some more and quickly, because things are about to heat up lightning fast. See you all next time.


	5. Record 2: Guardians in Downtown Vale

Sorry for the wait, guys, but I will be able to get some more work done this upcoming week, what with spring break and all. Because school. Yeah… so fun (so not).

Last chapter sure was an exciting ride, but let's get on with even more action, shall we? Thanks to all of you who have read thus far, but I understand if you decide this sort of stuff just isn't your thing. Welcome to all new readers, and grab some popcorn, a couple cans of soda, and a seatbelt or two, because things are about to go from kitchen stove (like last chapter) to red-hot metal in one uber-long chapter (aka things are about to get interesting).

BTW: any and all RWBY fans are going to be happy today. Halo fans will also be proud, along with action/adventure fans.

Act two chapter three here we GO!

* * *

Halo: The Next Generation

Record Log II: Revolution and Redemption

Part 3: Guardians in Downtown Vale

* * *

It took a solid half hour, but the twelve Guardians eventually made it to the city limits of Vale by sunrise. They were moderately impressed with the architecture, but it wasn't half as good as the city back home. What surprised them was the lack of Faunus walking around. Saevio was right: at least _some_ form of discrimination was going on in the city. Either that or these strange humanoids just plain and simple didn't exist.

"Alright," Robert admitted. "It's not the best I've seen, but it's not a warzone. Saevio? Find us the nearest—."

"Done," the small but powerful AI beat him to the punchline. "It's on your HUD… oh. Sorry. I forgot you weren't wearing your helmets. It's on the corner of Twentieth Street and Avenue A North. Tall building, nearly impossible to miss, good luck. And be careful: the officers there are a little cranky due to a string of robberies led by this guy called 'Roaming Torque-witch'."

"I think you mean 'Roman Torchwick'," Sherlock corrected.

"Well, it doesn't really matter," Emily pushed the matter aside. "What matters is that we get to the public safety bureau pronto. We need to get ourselves registered into the populous before anyone starts asking questions."

* * *

*Later*

It took a bit of doing, but the soldiers eventually made their way to the public safety bureau and, to their surprise, were already registered citizens. How this happened, they had no idea, but they were grateful.

"There's also a package here waiting for you," said the attendant. Robert raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"A… a package," he stuttered in a state of disbelief. The woman on the other side of the desk nodded.

"Came in by air. No idea who it's from, but it's here specifically for you and your friends." She pulled out a set of fourteen thick envelopes, each one individually labeled. He had to force himself to, but he eventually brought himself out of his confused state, reached out, and took the envelopes.

"O-okay, thank you," Robert got out. He then turned to his teammates, but he apparently missed something.

"There's one more thing for you," she stopped him before he could get too far. He turned back around to see the woman gesturing to something on the floor. He looked to where she gestured to, and saw what appeared to be twelve duffle bags and three boxes were lying on the floor in straight lines, four duffle bags lined up behind each box. Each box was around one foot wide, three feet long, and four feet high. He turned back to the woman, but she appeared to be working again.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he caught her attention. She looked up from her work, looking enthusiastic to answer whatever question he had. "Where did you say these came from?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Some guy just came up to our doorstep one day carrying twelve duffle bags in one hand, dragging three large boxes with the other, and fourteen envelopes in his pocket. He told me to give them all to a young seventeen-year-old called Robert James, and here we are."

"How long ago did you get all this," Robert pressed. Again she shrugged.

"Four weeks ago, I think." She then returned to her work, ending the conversation. Robert turned back to his fellow soldiers.

"Well, I guess that solves one problem." He dealt out the duffle bags accordingly, grabbed a large box with one heave, and started walking to the door. They all made it outside, each carrying a duffle bag, their armored backpacks. Robert, along with William Jackson and Joseph Crowley, each carried a box along with the rest of their personal belongings and newly-acquired duffle bags. Once outside, the three men carrying the boxes set them down and rested their backs and arms.

"Alright, let's see what these letters are all about," Robert pulled out the envelopes. He handed each one out to the corresponding person until he got to the last two. "Uh, who here likes to call themselves 'Ozpin'?" Sherlock flickered to life at that moment.

"You mean 'Professor Ozpin'? He is headmaster at the Huntsman and Huntress training academy known as Beacon."

"That _is_ helpful, but I don't know why _his_ mail is with _us_. Maybe we're supposed to give these to him…"

"Well," Colby interrupted the train of thought. "We've got mail, so let's check it out." He then proceeded to eye his letter suspiciously, trying to see whether or not he was supposed to dig into it yet. Shephard followed suit, tearing into his letter when he decided it was safe to do so. Emily allowed Calypso to scan her letter, which she opened when Calypso gave her the green light. Having already looked at his, Robert simply tore the side of his envelope open, then emptied the contents into his palm. Said contents included what appeared to be two hundred lien, a small device that looked like a mobile computer of some sort, and a small data card in its case which he assumed was designated for Saevio. He put the lien in his billfold, hooked the device to his combat belt, and plugged the data card into Saevio's mainframe.

"What's it say," Robert demanded. The AI was speechless for some time before finally speaking up.

"It doesn't say much of anything," Saevio said, extremely confused. "It's just a weird little communication system. I think it was designed for us AIs to maintain contact with one another. I don't know what else it could be."

Robert looked around the group, finding that everyone had almost the exact same thing in their envelopes. Everyone around him was just sitting there and staring at him, waiting for further instruction.

"So, Robert," Colby began. "What do we do now?"

"Well," the older brother responded. "If you'd like to go exploring, you may. Personally, I'm going to go try to talk with Professor Ozpin. If you'd like to come with, that's fine. The only thing I'm asking you to do is to stay out of trouble." He then ordered his AI to locate this 'Professor Ozpin' fellow, which was nearly instantaneous.

"Well," the AI began listing options. "He's actually headed for the police HQ. Turns out he _may_ know of our whereabouts."

"Okay, so… where's that?"

"OH! Sorry about that. I forgot that you haven't put your helmets back on since we first landed here. Um… the building is on Thirty-Seventh Street and South L Avenue. It is the third building on your right, right across from a somewhat small Dust shop. Shouldn't be too hard to miss, but then again I'm talking about you guys—."

"I take offense to that," Toby McSumners shouted at the little AI. Saevio just laughed as if he were a psychopath with a daredevilish death wish.

"Saevio, behave yourself," Robert scolded. "Besides, once we get there, you're going to have to hide yourself. I don't want police to come after us for just having AIs."

"Fine," Saevio groaned.

"I'm going with you, Robert," Emily stated. Arthur stepped forward in agreement.

"I think I'll just go exploring," Colby decided. Shephard gave him a funny look.

"That's the second time this month that we've decided on the same thing," the surprised Sergeant muttered.

"Well, great minds that think alike are bound to butt heads at some point," Sherman tried. Both Sergeants nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'm off," Robert declared. "Whatever _legal_ thing you want to do, you may as well do it now. I'm giving you twenty-four hours of free time."

* * *

*Colby James*

Colby went out into the city center, hoping to find something to occupy his time. He walked past a small park, a movie theater, one or two restaurants, and a barber shop. None of this caught his attention. He sighed in boredom.

"Ares," he asked his AI. "Do you know of anything I could do around here? Something that won't get me arrested, preferably?"

"Hold on a minute," the AI responded. "Something's headed our way, and it's closing in fast—."

Whatever Ares was trying to warn Colby about, he was a bit late in delivering the message. The speeding object was so fast he barely had enough time to pull out Leonidas (WEAPONS NOTE: Leonidas is a circular, carbon-steel alloy shield designed for heavy combat situations) before said object slammed into him at nearly Mach I. Any and all momentum sent Colby and the object sprawling. Colby rolled over almost as soon as his back touched the ground, thanks to his military training. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his head caused by tumbling around too much.

"That's a headache, _that's a headache_," he muttered in pain. After thirty seconds the pain subsided, and he rose to his full height. He went to put away Leonidas, realizing a little late that the carbon-steel alloy shield was no longer on his arm. The metal's glint shone to his left, telling him that it was only two yards from his feet. As he went to retrieve the dark grey shield, the object that hit him began to rise as well. He attached Leonidas to his right arm and placed it between him and the object. He never realized what, or who, the object was until he took a closer look.

Attempting to stand in front of him was a young girl wearing a red hoodie, which would've been amusing to him if it weren't for the fact that she'd slammed into him at a speed that could rival his own, and not only survived, but survived without a single scratch. He relaxed his shield arm just enough so then she could see his face, refusing to lower it any more than that in fear that she would somehow accelerate to Mach speed in less than a fraction of a millisecond again. He heard her muttering something about something hitting her. He wondered how long it would take for her to notice that he was standing right in front of her. He knew it wouldn't be long, but he wanted to see her reaction when she saw him.

Only one term could describe her reaction to seeing him: priceless. She looked up to see him standing there stock still, Leonidas shielding his torso. She almost literally jumped in fear, losing her balance and falling backwards. Down she went, landing on her tailbone. He just rolled his eyes, putting his shield back where it belonged.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I swear," the Sergeant Colonel promised, chuckling at her reaction. He held out his hand to help her up, but she seemed hesitant at first. "C'mon, I'm not _that_ scary, am I?" She finally took the help, and he hefted her up as though she were as light as a feather.

"Thanks, I guess," she uttered. He nodded.

"Just trying to help," he shook it off. He started to walk off when he heard a low rumbling in the distance. He turned to the source of the sound to see three rapidly growing specks in the distance.

"Ares," he called out to his AI. The girl, now behind him, gave him a funny look. "What are those things out there?" The girl backed away quickly when the AI came out in his red holographic form and spoke.

"Rebel gunships," Ares answered quickly, causing the girl to jump a little. "Arrival ETA thirty seconds or less. Looks like they've got passengers with 'em."

"Get us off the radar," he ordered, pressing a knob on his armored backpack. The parts of his SPARTAN armor moved in sync as they covered his whole body once again. The chest piece rotated from behind his back over his shoulders, covering his grey military t-shirt and navy jacket. His khaki cargo pants were almost instantly covered by carbon-titanium armor plating. His friction- and heat-resistant combat boots were covered by massive silver boots. On his left shoulder, the symbol of a Sergeant Colonel glowed white. While the parts moved, his shield latched onto the right arm gauntlet as the gauntlet came over his forearm. Once the armor was locked into place, he grabbed his automatic pistol with his left hand. His helmet came over his head, the visor snapping shut in the process. The lights inside the helmet came on as Ares manifested the suit of armor. A small circle appeared in the bottom left corner of his visor, showing a yellow dot, a blue dot right next to it, and three red dots closing in fast. His shields came online, showing so in the upper center of his HUD.

"They've already seen us," Ares argued when he came online in the suit.

"Well, let's make the best of what we've got." The young soldier turned to face the civilian girl in the red hood. "You may want to, you know, start getting out of the way. Things are about to get—."

"MISSILE INBOUND," Ares yelled into his earpiece.

"Painful," Colby finished, turning back to the gunships. "Really, really painful."

The boy soldier turned around on the spot, swinging his shield at the missile, shattering the ballistic weapon upon contact. The broken projectile flew back to the gunships in dozens of deadly shards as the first machine gun opened fire. The gunships were now close enough for Colby to see just how many soldiers each one carried. Including the pilots as two each, he had around twelve per gunship. This certainly was not the best of days for him.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY," he shouted to the girl over the hail of bullets hitting his shield. The hail of bullets ended temporarily as the gunships dropped off their armed and dangerous cargo. He readied his automatic pistol for action, waiting until the rotary blades on the gunships sped up to cause carnage.

Once he heard the rotors speed up, he lowered Leonidas, swung his automatic pistol up and over his shield and let loose a hail of bullets at the rebel forces. Completely unprepared for this, the opposition lost at least twelve men to the rain of death before they went back on the offensive. One of the gunships armed the forward machine gun and let the cannon send a wave of superheated bullets, forcing Colby back to the defensive. He heard the sound of metal clashing and clicking, and upon turning his head learned that this young civilian girl wasn't totally defenseless. In fact, he was shocked at what he saw.

Cradled in the girl's slightly skinny arms was a four yard long scythe with a two yard blade, complete with the barrel of a sniper rifle fused into the end of the scythe. She took aim at one of the gunships and cracked off a round. The bullet completely shattered the rotary wing of the central gunship, sending it crashing to the ground. The hail of bullets on Colby's shield ended, freeing him to mow down two or three more rebel soldiers before the onslaught continued. He reached his automatic pistol around Leonidas and popped off a few more rounds at the enemy, downing one more soldier.

"On your left," Colby warned the girl, who swung her scythe at two soldiers with knives. The soldiers flew about five or six yards before slamming into a lamp post. "Not what I was expecting, but okay."

Colby unleashed another hail of bullets at the pilot of the leftmost gunship. Blood splattered the windshield as the bullets broke through the windshield and killed the pilot. The gunship veered left and crashed into the paved street. He holstered the pistol and pulled out a grenade, pulling the pin and hurling it at the remaining ground soldiers. The soldiers tried to flee, but the blast still sent them flying.

The last gunship turned its attention off of Colby and onto the girl with the sniper/scythe weapon. A rocket launched from the ship's left wing, and the girl tried to slice the missile in half by swinging her scythe in a full circle parallel to the rocket. Upon contact with her weapon, the ballistic exploded, sending the girl and her weapon flying. The pilot guided his ship to the girl's now-defenseless body, aiming his main cannon straight for her torso. Time seemed to slow down for Colby as he witnessed the cannon's barrel start spinning. The last thing he felt was his anger igniting, his eyes starting to glow a blazing, violent white as time really did slow down for him.

He ran up to the gunship as if everything else was in slow motion and he were on fast-forward. He jumped and latched onto the gunship's right wing, knocking its aim off of the girl just as the hail of bullets came out of the barrel. The pilot began to panic, taking his finger off the cannon's trigger and pulling wildly on the control stick. His motions were of no use, as Colby had full control of the gunship. The young SPARTAN gave little to no effort as he flipped the ship on its backside and smashed the cabin open. Time sped back up as the pilot fell out of his cabin.

As soon as time resumed, Colby's muscles instantly grew sore and weak as his eye color returned to normal. The pilot got up, wielding a knife despite the numerous cuts and bruises lining his body. Colby pulled out his shield once again just as the pilot charged. The SPARTAN swung his oversized shield, battering the pilot and sending him flying across the city of Vale. He took a deep breath as his armor folded back to its previous state. He slung Leonidas across his back, where it latched on to the re-armored backpack. His breathing was slightly heavy, but only slightly heavier than normal. The girl turned to him in awe.

"How did you just DO that," she demanded, apparently very excited about that battle.

"Uh," he trailed off, still somewhat sore. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"One moment you were over there, I'm over here about to get shot down, and the next thing I know—."

"Whoa, whoa, I know what you're talking about, whoa. Calm. Down. Okay?" She nodded, retrieving her oversized gardening tool. The scythe transformed into a small box, leaving Colby in a wide-eyed state of wow. "Now that's pretty dang cool."

"Kind of like your armor," she pointed out. She had a point, he internally admitted. He instantly went back to all seriousness.

"You can't tell ANYONE about this," he ordered, knowing that if word got out about what had just happened, the Neo-Forerunners would be all over this planet in a matter of hours. "If you do, those guys we fought back there—you know, the ones in the weird gunship—at least half a million more of them will come out and wreck this planet until not even the Grimm are left alive." Her silver eyes were locked on to his gunmetal gray ones, and she nodded in understanding. He took a deep breath, then readied his legs for a supersonic clean up. "Watch this."

A loud roar erupted from where he once stood as he began to run at Mach IV, cleaning up the carnage and dead bodies lying around the plaza. Any and all damage was erased in a matter of seconds, and he returned to where he was standing after only fifteen seconds. His breathing was extremely heavy when he stopped, and he put his hands on his knees in a desperate attempt to get air into his lungs.

"It normally works when I get angry, but there you have it," he huffed. "I can run at any speed faster or slower than supersonic speed for any amount of time. It's just the heavy weight lifting that's got me all tired. She chuckled, turning her attention to the shield on Colby's back.

"What's that," she asked.

"Uh?... Oh, that's my shield. I call it Leonidas, mainly due to its shape and design. It's a carbon-steel alloy shield."

"A what?"

"Carbon-steel alloy. It's like a… it's like Dust-infused metal, but without all the fancy elements involved."

"Whoa," the girl spoke in a trance of awe. Colby chuckled.

"Yeah, no kidding."

"So, what's it do," she wondered. The Sergeant Colonel froze in confusion.

"Uh… do what?"

"Your shield. What's it do?"

"Nothing much, really. I plan on modifying it so then I don't have to use Magnus again—."

"Magnus?"

"That assault pistol you saw me using. The one that shoots like a chain gun. You remember that one?"

"Ah."

"Yeah… for now, Leonidas is just a shield." He shrugged, thinking about all the ways that this conversation could go wrong.

"So… I got this," she said as she pulled out her scythe. Colby didn't flinch once, even when the blade came inches away from his face, but he did blink when the wind hit him.

"And you call this…," he trailed off, hoping she would answer.

"Crescent Rose," she answered proudly. "It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle."

"One Hell of a gun, I'm telling you."

"You've used one?"

"Once, and only once. Let's just say the endeavor went about as bad as one might imagine." He chuckled. "At the time, Leonidas was so _huge_ compared to me. When I fired that danged rifle, I flew back just a foot, but I was like a stuck turtle, screaming '_Help. Somebody help me! Oh my God I'm going to die_'." She started giggling. He was chuckling more today than he had in a long while. After they'd calmed down enough to make sense of their surroundings, she asked him the exact question on his mind.

"So… what's your name," she asked him. He thought for a moment, trying to think of his proper civilian name. Seconds later, his mind just decided 'Well, screw it' and he forced himself to speak.

"Colby James," he stated matter-of-factly. "Lieutenant Colonel Colby Daniel James, if you want to be specific." She made a small 'ah' sound before speaking again.

"Cool name. I'm Ruby." He stood there semi-stunned, confused as to what kind of a name that was, then mentally kicked himself for forgetting that their culture was still different from his.

"Um… could I have a last name," he muttered, not really comfortable with speaking to girls. She just giggled some more, relieving some of his stress.

* * *

*Shephard*

Later that night, Shephard was seen walking downtown, shoulder to shoulder with his brother, William Jackson. They both wore leather vests, each with a star pinned to the right shoulder. The combat boots issued to the brothers by the military started cramping their feet two hours ago, so they decided to change into their casual pairs of sneakers. William's wavy brown hair flowed in the wind, so much so that Shephard decided that he would give William a haircut for his 16th birthday. Shephard's short-crop black hair glistened in the shattered moon's light. William had stuck with Shephard for two hours straight, pestering the sanity out of the 17-year-old. Finally, something was brought to William's attention, which would've pleased Shephard had the topic been different.

"Shephard," William began. "How'd we get into this deep of a mess?"

"What do you mean," the confused brother demanded.

"The war," William explained. "The rebels and all. How'd we get into this deep of a mess with the rebels?" The Sergeant sighed, not knowing the answer.

"You know about as much as I do, Will," Shephard stated flatly. William made a grunting sound.

"Do you think there are other species like us out there?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think there are any other species as advanced as us?"

"Well," Shephard tried to answer the question. "There's these species on this planet. Then there's the Forerunners from the past—."

"That's not what I meant," William corrected. "I mean, are there any species with… space flight technology?" Shephard's brow wrinkled, trying to remember if there were any interstellar species in the galaxy.

"You know, Will, that's a very good question. I don't know. There _could_ be, but I don't really know. I guess we'll find out soon enough." Silence passed between the brothers once again before William brought up yet another topic.

"Have you ever gotten homesick," the young man asked. Shephard nodded, not really wanting to talk about this topic.

"Once," was the short response. "It was my first mission on a foreign planet. The Neos had set up a small base of operations there. The natives were humans with avian-like bones. We called them Jackals mainly due to their tendency to steal our guns and ammunition and refuse to return them without a heavy price. That was my first mission that I had faced the Neos in land combat, and the only land mission I'd gone without Betsy."

"I still can't get over the fact that you named your shotgun," the Private joked. He cackled at the older brother's eye roll.

"Well, it's not like you haven't named your legless turret 'Lucky'," Shephard retorted.

Just then, they heard gunfire coming from inside a nightclub to their left. Shephard halted his steady pace, holding out an arm to stop his brother. The Private looked up to his brother and commanding officer as though said officer had gone insane.

"Dude, it's not Neos," the younger promised. "I swear. If there were any, we'd _both_ know by now." Shephard just sighed, shaking his head.

"I think I've got PTSD," he swore, causing his brother to cackle.

"You said it, not me." Shephard rolled his eyes once more in embarrassment.

"Come on, you. Let's go check up on the Corporal."

* * *

*Robert*

It took thirty minutes of searching for the location of the danged building, but Robert and his small band finally found the police headquarters. Instead of entering like he'd promised, Robert had given his team the order to find a good place to camp out and rest. Before they could leave, a deputy opened the door and called for them, saying something about someone wanting to see them. Not wanting to argue with a police officer on his first day here, Robert and his group complied and followed the deputy.

Upon entering, their eyes widened in surprise. This was nothing like their bunker back home. Compared to the military-standard dull steel desks and chairs on Andromeda (PLANET NOTE: Andromeda is a lush, green planet somewhat similar to Earth, but on a much larger scale. This is where the Guardians first settled down, and is where they currently live to modern day), these wooden desks and padded seats looked like heaven for their backs and shoulders. The walls were a sort of light beige as opposed to the boring grey of the concrete bunkers back home. What was a real delicacy for Robert and Arthur were the coffee machines on the back-most wall, which Emily just rolled her eyes towards in disgust.

"Right this way," said the deputy, leading them to a somewhat small interrogation room, a real nerve-wrecker for the broad-shouldered Arthur Phylarchus. Robert would've felt sorry for him had he not rushed in like a wild bronco chasing a pile of carrots. He saw the reason why when he entered the room: inside, resting on the table, was a small platter with three equally small cups of tea, black coffee, and mocha. The tea was in Phylarchus's hand in less than a second after the deputy left to go and get whoever wanted to speak with them. Deciding it was worth it, the Corporal and Captain calmly walked over to the table and picked up the black coffee and mocha, respectively. All three took a seat on the surprisingly soft black wooden chairs, waiting patiently for this person. Minutes later, the deputy entered and led them to yet another, much larger room; to their surprise, the three friends found that the rest of their company was there, minus Shephard and William Jackson and Colby James. The person who wanted to speak with them all still had yet to show up.

Seconds after seating themselves, Colby James entered the room, his face and clothes covered in ashes. He didn't seem happy about being here. The dark expression lightened up when he saw a mug of Columbian roast coffee, which was surprising because that particular roast only came from a city on their home planet. When asked about the grime on his clothes, the entire group howled in laughter at his response: "Eh, some girl wanted to see some gunpowder, so I pulled some out and showed her. Some airborne Dust flew by, she sneezed, and everything went up in flames."

"What's so funny," asked Shephard, who had entered just then with his younger brother William. Upon repetition of what happened, Shephard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, grabbing a cup of black coffee in the process. William walked over to his fellow youth and put his hand on Colby's shoulder. The Private sighed before looking the Sergeant Colonel in the eye.

"You know," William began. "I don't know how you manage it." Colby raised an eyebrow. "You've managed to pick up more chicks than I have in my entire life." Silence ensued, followed by Colby knocking the smaller Private into the significantly larger Sergeant, who had recently set his coffee down to follow up with a clotheslining maneuver. The two Sergeants high-fived, proceeding to punch one another in the face simultaneously as if it were a secret handshake.

Thirteen minutes later—around 6:30 in the evening—when the SPARTANs had settled down in their seats, the mysterious person who wanted to speak with them entered the room. The man stood around William's height—six-feet two, to be more exact—bearing a cane in one hand and a mug of coffee in his other. He wore a greyish suit jacket, a dark green vest, a green scarf with a cross in the center, and a dark color of trousers with a black belt. The man's hair sent the term 'old' into his mind, making him shake the idea out of his head. Robert sat at one end of the circular table, suddenly getting the impression of being in an old fictional novel known by some as 'King Arthur and the Knights at the Round Table' due to his proximity to his coincidentally-named partner.

"Hello," the man said, his accent again bringing the term 'old' into Robert's mind. "I see you all have taken the beverages I had sent for you."

"That was _you_," Colby wondered in awe, turning his head to face William. "I love this guy already. Don't know who he is, but I like him already." The man, who the Corporal, Captain, and Major Colonel already recognized, just smiled at the Sergeant Colonel.

"Do you know who I am," the VIP asked. All but three SPARTANs present shook their heads, the three that did holding a thumbs up.

"I honestly don't know," Shephard admitted openly. "But I'm going to guess that you're Professor Ozpin, former Huntsman, Headmaster at Beacon Academy and teacher for… don't know how many years." Robert stared in semi-fear at the boy who just spoke, Emily looked back and forth between the two, and Arthur's eyes rolled back into his head in an awestruck insanity. The man nodded.

"Your battlefield skills are quite impressive," Ozpin complimented. "You know more about me on this encounter, given that you've only been here for less than a day." This confused the entire group.

"How do you know that," Robert demanded before anyone could deny what the professor clearly already knew. The professor leaned toward the well-known SPARTAN commander.

"Why, _your_ commander, of course. Who else to go to for information on his twelve soldier-boys who just crash-landed on _my_ home world?" Well, that answers one question.

"Wait," Arthur interrupted, showing more confusion than anyone else in the room. "General Sanderson _told_ you about us? And he ordered us to keep our traps shut about our origins. What a hypocrite." Ozpin smiled at this, leaving Robert to sigh and mutter an 'oh, no' before the insanity began.

"_I_ know about you," he clarified. "I also know where you come from. The local law enforcement does, as well. As a matter of fact, almost every important figure on Remnant knows about you and the wars you've fought in the previous years. However, I can assure you that not _every_one knows about your being here, and almost no one knows about the civil war you fight. No one except for me and someone you may know, that is." He stepped out of the doorway to reveal another grey-haired man with wrinkles along his forehead, a graying beard, and a military-standard blue jacket with the symbol of a General embroidered in gold on the top right shoulder. Every SPARTAN in the room stood up instantly and saluted to their commander-in-chief, General Thomas Sanderson.

"At-ease, SPARTANs," the Andromedean General ordered, and the soldiers instantly dropped the salute and collapsed back into their chairs, exhausted from the last twelve hours or so. "In case you're wondering, I did not order _all_ the ships to head home. The flagship you were dropped from, the Saratoga, was carrying another batch of recruits, but you were the only ones who ran out of time. You had to drop only because the rebels did, indeed, have the same idea as we did."

"So… why are you here," Robert asked his commanding officer.

"I recently heard that Headmaster Ozpin—."

"Please, Thomas," the headmaster asked. "Drop the formalities. I'm not in the military like you are."

"_Professor_ Ozpin, or whoever he goes by," chuckles surrounded the large space. "Had built a split-off from his academy designed specifically for foreign species such as us. Since I was the nearest foreign military commander, he recruited me to be the headmaster there. As you are already basically my students, you have already been placed on the roster. You will be participating in the same events as the Beacon students, but with a special twist: paintball." Silence filled the room as the twelve soldiers stared wide-eyed at their commander-in-chief, stunned to know what they'd just heard. Arthur, however, was another case altogether.

"Um… sorry, General, but I wasn't paying attention to any of that," said the Major Colonel. "I'm still stuck on the fact that we have to go to school now." Loud laughter echoed through the building.

"Well," the commander-in-chief/professor/drill instructor demanded expectantly. "Are you in or not?" Robert sat up straight, resting his head on his fist.

"If I may answer for us all," Robert answered. "I think only one term is going to sum this up, General: Hell yeah." Instantly, all the SPARTANs in the room stood up, excited for the upcoming events.

"HELL YEAH," the soldiers (aside from the General and Corporal) yelled.

"Hell yeah," Robert summed up, his voice implying a readiness for duty.

* * *

A/N: As I said at the beginning of this chapter, I'm so sorry this took so long to get out. However, now some people will be satisfied (I hope). RWBY fans, did you enjoy the weird encounter Colby had with Ruby? And yes, I did forget to get out some character profiles. I may do that soon in another fic, because these OC's have really complicated backgrounds, especially Shephard, Robert, Emily, and Arthur. To all the Halo fans reading this, did you understand what I was referencing to during the Colby v. Neo-Forerunner battle? The gunship is _not_ a Pelican, it's that one little gunship Master Chief pilots during (I believe) Halo 2 or 3 with the two spinning blades on the wings. Do you know what I'm talking about? If you do, and you know what it's called, tell me in a review or PM. Even if someone else already answers the question, please verify its clarity/validity for me, because I _really_ don't want to get anything wrong in this story. At least with RWBY I can look it up on YouTube.

OC's: Two people now. I have had two people who have submitted OC's now: panzer hunter and JosephAllan32. Speaking of which, I would like to thank you both for submitting, and I look forward to using these characters. If you have an OC (or an event which I will approve) that you want to see in this story, then please PM me.

Alright. I think that about sums that up, so I will see you all next chapter. Peace.


	6. Record 2: Beacon, Our New Home

I got a couple of reviews for last chapter, so I'd like to thank those who did. This is my biggest story yet, with almost 20k words, and your reviews just make it that much more awesome to me.

So I did some research and verified which one was the one I was after:

Sheploo: while it does look cool, the UH-144 Falcon is not the gunship I was talking about. Admittedly, though, the Falcon does just look awesome.

Redcollecter (guest): that's the one I was talking about! The Hornet, first flown by Master Chief in Halo 3. That's the one I was talking about.

To be honest to the both of you, I never knew about the Falcon, and had no idea what the Hornet was called before you told me, so both of your reviews were extremely helpful. Thank you both _so_ much.

Along with that, I did more research while writing the earlier parts of this chapter and found that I got it all wrong, so I'm going to give you some edits to the ranks of all the OC's (with the exception of Sanderson and the unmentioned OC's) in this story thus far:

Robert James: Colonel

Emily Johnson: Major

Arthur Phylarchus: Captain

Shephard Jackson: First Lieutenant

Max Strasbourg: Second Lieutenant

Toby McSumners: Sergeant Major

Joseph Crowley: First Sergeant

Colby James: Sergeant

William Jackson: Corporal

Thomas Peters: Lance Corporal

Sarah Washington: Private First Class

Emma Washington: Private First Class

James Tucker: Private First Class

'Dead' Male Rookie (from R2: Final Drop): Private First Class

'Dead' Female Rookie (from R2: Final Drop): Private First Class

Well, now that introductions are over, let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: To be honest, I don't really want to own either RWBY or Halo because I really don't have the time to deal with stupid employees (nothing against Rooster Teeth or Bungie). Any and all French translations were either from French classes or from Google Translator. Any and all German translations were from Google Translator.

Halo: The Next Generation

Record Log II: Revolution and Redemption

Part 4: Beacon, Our New Home

*Robert*

That evening, the soldiers had never slept better in their lives. As usual, Robert awoke early enough to watch the sun rise from the horizon. He put on a pair of blue jeans, a gray t-shirt with a white cross emblazoned across the front, a maroon hoodie, and silver-blue sneakers that matched his eye color. His brown hair was plenty short, but still long enough to flow in the wind. He was already growing stubble, but he kept forgetting to shave, and even liked the appearance.

As he stood on the balcony, watching the sun slowly climb over the hills and city buildings, his friend Emily joined him on his right as he stared into the horizon. She wore baby blue jeans, a green shirt, a red spring jacket with daisies embroidered along the edges and front, and a pair of pink steel-toed boots with yellow dandelion designs etched into the faux-leather. Her long blond hair flowed like a soft stream in the early-morning breeze, exposing a few streaks of dirty blond in the process. In her right hand, she held a cup of sweetened coffee with creamer, the one thing he knew she craved like nobody's business. In her left hand, she held a mug of black coffee, still steaming as though fresh brewed, which she offered to her commanding officer. He gladly took the brew, smelling the fresh aroma of a good French roast coffee in seven thirty in the morning. He took a cautious sip of the coffee in his hands, wanting to verify that this wasn't a German roast. Sure enough, it was his favorite blend of French and German: a mix between German and French roast, with French vanilla and German chocolate brewed into the mix. He felt the warm concoction slide down his throat, soothing his hoarse vocal cords, loosening his tight diaphragm, and even straightening his tangled mind. He breathed a thoughtful sigh, glad that she'd brought him that mug of much-needed coffee. The sun's rays of light were now hitting his face at full power, washing away any and all stress from his face.

He heard a groan coming from the living room, and turned to see his brother slinking through the area, apparently looking for coffee.

"Where's the coffee," he groggily muttered. William Jackson wasn't too far behind—seeking out hot chocolate—and neither were the twins, Sarah and Emma Washington, who were both looking for chamomile tea.

"In the kitchen," Emily instructed, her voice soft like a mother's. "By the stove, Colby. In the teapot, Sarah. Still heating up, William. Mugs are in the cabinets above the stove." Robert smiled at his brother, who had grabbed two mugs from the cabinets and was pouring tea for the two girls. He could already see him asking one of them out thirteen weeks from now.

"Alright, _who_ took Betsy," a worn-out Shephard demanded, red-eyed with a lack of sleep. Colby shrugged.

"I don't know," said the younger boy. "I haven't seen Leonidas since I fell asleep last night. What about you, William?"

"I've got Walker and Ranger right here," the soldier boy in question responded. "But both have paintball ammo in them. My rifle ammo's also gone. I can't even find Thunder's ammunition." He pulled out his large detached turret, which was stock full with paintball ammunition fitted for the deadly weapon. "I don't get it."

"_Why do I have paintball grenades_," called a furious Joseph Crowley from in one of the bedrooms.

The mobile devices they got yesterday—which they recently learned were called 'Scrolls' and were similar in structure and function to their holographic cellular phones—began buzzing. Robert took his out and opened the device, finding a message ready to be opened. He opened the message, which read:

_Weapons in crates. Refitted for paintball. Pack up. Airship leaves to Beacon at 09:30 sharp. We won't wait up for you._

"What time is it," Robert demanded. His brother answered him, having read the message via his own Scroll.

"It is… eight o'clock, on the dot," Colby answered after checking his watch. He then checked his scroll, his face going from casual to terror in seconds. "Uh, did Sanderson want military time or Scroll time?"

"I should think he meant Scroll time," Joseph Crowley responded, having just walked into the room with his Scroll open and AI resting on his shoulder.

"Oh, God," Colby nearly screamed. "It's fifteen to nine!"

"Pack up like bats out of Hell, soldiers," Robert yelled, racing to his own bunk to grab his still packed backpack and duffle bag.

*Thirty minutes later*

The soldiers finally arrived at their destination, breathing heavy upon arrival. They all carried their armored backpacks, their duffle bags, and the contents of the crates they picked up yesterday, which just so happened to be a stash of weapons, new clothes, and paintball and live ammunition. Sanderson was nowhere to be found, but Robert could see a strangely colorful crowd at the docking station of the airship. He could see a variety of bright colors and strange outfits, including a dress, a hoodie, and… huh?

In and amongst the crowd, he could see a group of sixteen young men and women dressed in SPARTAN armor, and at least a hundred and twenty more clothed in ODST armor. Even more were decked out in a strange armor that seemed foreign to him. He had no idea who they all were, but he knew that the other SPARTANs weren't his own.

"Step lively, guys," Robert ordered. "Look pretty and keep a sharp eye out. Anything goes wrong, tell me."

"I see Neos," Shephard stated as clear as day, as if nothing could be more obvious. Robert rolled his eyes.

"I see our own," William observed, adding to the few plus sides to his list.

"I see old comrades," Arthur stated, walking over to his fellow species decked out in purple, green, silver, yellow, and red armor that still looked foreign to him. "If anyone asks who I am, tell them I am the Arbiter."

"Okay," Robert joked. "And while I'm at it, I'll tell them that I'm the Master Chief." A glare from his friend and ally. "Oh, come on. That was a joke and you know it." The glare fell into a smile, and Arthur Phylarchus left the area, starting to speak with his friends known as the former Elites of the Covenant. Robert turned to his own soldiers and told them to go off and socialize, but obviously Emily wasn't going anywhere.

"Hold it," a voice in his head demanded. It wasn't Saevio, but it wasn't his instincts either. "Someone's nearby. Turn around." Robert did as the voice commanded him, and found that it wasn't kidding. A Neo-Forerunner SPARTAN officer was standing not five feet in front of him.

"Hello, Robert," the young man around Robert's age spoke. "It's been far too long. _Far_ too long." The Neo turned to face Emily. "And you've even brought friends, have we? Excuse me, ma'am, but I don't think we've met before."

"Andrew," Robert ordered the SPARTAN. "Eyes off of my Captain." Andrew just laughed.

"I can't believe you've replaced me with such a beautiful face, Corporal. I thought you knew better."

"I thought you knew better than to betray us," Robert backfired. Emily leaned in closer to Robert's ear.

"_Vous__savez__ce__mec_," she asked faintly in French, one of the numerous languages of the Guardian species. (Translation: You know this guy?)

"_Ja_," Robert confirmed in German. Andrew laughed even more. (Translation: Yes.)

"I can't believe you still remember that, James," he spoke in a Germanic dialect known only by Robert and others of the same nationality.

"English, please," Robert asked, speaking in the international language now. Andrew gave him a look of mock sorrow.

"Aww, come now," again in yet another Germanic dialect. "Surely you want to catch up with an old friend, don't you?"

"_Nein_," in the internationally-known dialect of German. "_Sprechen Sie Englisch, kein Deutsch_." (Translation: No. Speak English, not German.)

"_Warum__sollte__ich__?_" Robert pulled out his Magnum, shoving it under Andrew's jawbone. (Translation: Why should I?)

"_Oder __sonst_," said the Corporal. (Translation: Or else.) Silence passed between the three before the German-speaking rebel looked away and complied.

"_Sommes__-nous __fait_," Emily asked in French once again, earning a look from both German speakers. (Translation: Are we done?)

"Yes, Major," Robert responded in English. "We are done with that little language battle. So long as Andrew doesn't speak German again, we will be fine." Andrew turned to Robert, sticking his finger in the Corporal's face.

"_Das __ist__noch__nicht__vorbei_," the German speaker promised in his native language, earning him a pistol aimed at his forehead from point blank. (Translation: This isn't over yet.) The Neo-Forerunner soldier then walked away, probably furious that Robert didn't join the cause.

"And… what was that," Emily asked in English. Robert was just staring at Andrew the whole time the German soldier left to his squad. "Robert? You in there?" He then noticed that she was talking to him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I was just… thinking." The then returned to gazing off into the distance.

"You sure? I think you're more than 'just thinking'." The Colonel sighed at his Major's insistence. He then looked over at her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Brigadier General Andrew Hendrickson and I were… childhood friends at some point in our lives," he explained in a rushed voice. "Before you and I were partners, before the rebellion, even before we got recruited, he and I were good friends. Then we got recruited, and we got a little closer as friends. About three years ago, during the military's rebellion, he wanted me to come with, and I refused. Forces clashed, and he got booted to the Neos. I never saw him again, and I thought he was gone for good, shot down by one of our snipers. I was really down and depressed until you came along, and things got better for me."

"Oh. So I take it you two go way back—whoa, wait a minute. Did you say _Brigadier General_ Andrew Hendrickson?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He out-ranked you?"

"Yes, yes he did. You want to know why?" She nodded. "His father was vice senior chairman for the Germans. Thus being said, he got better training than I did, and I just couldn't beat him. The only reason I worked under him was because we worked so well together; otherwise, I would've been shipped off to the barracks in two days."

He heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see his brother walking towards him, a tiny blush on his face. Robert sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose upon seeing the blush on his brother's face.

"Do I even want to know what happened to you?"

"I forgot to tell you something that happened yesterday, and the girls are all over me for it," he stated. Emily began laughing.

"What," she joked. "Did one of 'em ask you out?" The Sergeant stuttered and sputtered like a car with a faulty and old engine.

"WHAT?! No, of course not. They're actually pretty mad at me for doing something so stupid." Robert muttered '_Mein __Gott_,' German for 'My God.'

"What did you do _this_ time," Robert demanded, sighing the whole time.

"So I was walking downtown yesterday, right? This civilian girl ran into me—." Emily's laughter just worsened. "At Mach speeds." The laughter stopped. "And knocked us both over. Apparently the usage of my shield attracted some rebel forces, and _what_ does she do? Why, she pulls out this _HUGE_ scythe-sniper rifle crossbreed. I kick some rebels to the moon, she literally hammers a couple into the ground, and this Hornet comes along and knocks her off balance, sends her flying. I get mad, flip the Hornet upside-down, and send the pilot flying out of the ballpark. I clean up the mess, and I'm like 'okay, this isn't that big of a deal'. I was wrong, of course. A few hours later of chatting with this girl—." A giggle from Emily. "And we get to a night club. I see all Hell break loose from the civilian's blond sister. Oh, my, GOD, she could give Shephard a run for his money—."

"Excuse me," the man in question spoke up, a violent tone in his voice.

"Dude, have you seen this girl's gauntlets? I go to give her a handshake, wearing my bullet-proof vest, and _what_ does she do? She punches me with the stupid things, sends me flying at least five yards. And I was ready for it, too." The three others were in a semi-state of shock at this, knowing all too well that nothing but a downed attack cruiser could even put up a fight against Colby's sheer strength even when totally surprised. "Then again, she was, like, at least a thousand times faster than I thought was possible for her stature, so I guess I miscalculated. So I say, 'Well, that was one Hell of a handshake'. She goes and punches me again. I run at nearly Mach 5, and she's still faster than me; I have to run at, like, half the speed of light just to dodge her next punch. So finally, her sister talks some sense into that girl, but by that time, I'm already on the roof with Leonidas, Magnus, and my armor on just in case she went haywire again. Proper handshake, the blond with the shotgun gauntlets leaves—."

"There's nothing better than a shotgun around here," Shephard interjected, tipping Colby over the edge.

"_CAN YOU STOP THAT_," the young Sergeant screamed. "Okay, so then the girl with the red hood and I finally get to the nearest shop that sells Dust and gunpowder. I find a good shelf with gunpowder and check out, and I'm about to leave when these thugs just barge in. I try to leave, one of 'em demands that I basically surrender, and I send his sorry little camel-butt flying with a few broken bones. Apparently, the redhead had the same thing happen, and the next thing I know, there's a little war right in front of the shop. One of the bigger guys comes after me with a red sword that I could've sworn was a Dust alloy. I pull out Leonidas, he charges, and I hit him so hard that I could hear his back breaking, his face cracking, and his jaw shattering, all in one swing. The guys just leave me to my peace, I get to the police station, warn them about what's happening, and _here_ we are." Silence follows the long explanation of what happened. In the meantime, Robert was staring at a redhead with a red hoodie behind his brother.

"Um, Colby," Emily began, somewhat nervous about the Sergeant's stalker, but Robert stopped her.

"I want to see his reaction," the Colonel explained. Colby raised an eyebrow.

"To what," he asked. Robert nodded his head in the direction of the girl behind him, and sure enough Colby turned around. His scream echoed throughout the city of Vale.

"Dang it, Ruby," he scolded the girl. "I thought I told you not to do that." The girl, who was apparently called Ruby, just giggled. Around that time, the airship arrived and began landing procedures. The soldiers gathered back under their respective commanders. Robert could feel a glare from his left, and turned to see Andrew Hendrickson giving him a dark look, complete with a smile. Robert returned fire with a deeper, darker glare and no smile, dropping the look to board the airship.

*Upon arrival at Beacon Academy/New UNSC Foreign Training Grounds*

Every soldier on that airship except for Joseph Crowley was absolutely blown away by the architecture of Beacon Academy and the new foreign training grounds. The buildings of Beacon looked like a large collection of tall spires and old buildings whose architecture closely resembled that of old England Guardian chapels and cathedrals. The training grounds somewhat resembled a small America Guardian city such as Houston or New York, except more in a smaller-scale version in the form of barracks.

"Not half as neat as one of the buildings I've seen," The First Sergeant commented. "But still quite impressive. Even I've got to admit, this is pretty cool, especially for barracks."

"And it's twice the size of the Saratoga," Toby McSumners added. "It's almost like Sanderson just landed the ship and let it fold out."

"Judging by the architecture, that's exactly what happened," Max Strasbourg analyzed.

"Okay, _Garmin_," Toby declared. "Where're we supposed to go?"

"The building's like an auditorium, but bigger and designed for hosting fights," Arthur Phylarchus instructed. The group nodded towards the human-Sangheili crossbreed, then began following his directions. At least, most of them did; Robert, Colby, Emily, Arthur, and Shephard all stayed behind, hoping to not have a repetition of this morning. Robert had his turbulence rifle, which had also been refitted for paintball, cradled in his arms. Colby had Leonidas, which had not been refitted, hooked up to his arm. Emily had her long-range sniper rifle slung over her shoulder, with a magazine of paintball rounds already in the gun. Arthur had a refitted version of his Covenant Carbine in his right hand, a refitted Plasma Pistol in his left. Shephard had a paintball rifle in his hands, with Betsy strapped to his back. Robert felt at least slightly uncomfortable with Ruby looking all over the place, acting like a… well, like a girl, but over _weapons of mass destruction_. He saw a blond girl, presumably her sister, attempt to get Ruby to take a chill pill. The other soldiers just laughed at this event and left to the building Arthur had described for them.

It took some looking, but Robert and his group finally found the auditorium Arthur was talking about. A somewhat large group of students was already present. Among this group was around 120 ODSTs, fifteen SPARTANs (which made Robert feel very uncomfortable), and 20 Sangheili in randomly-colored armor. Everyone else in the room was either human or Faunus. Robert analyzed the room and finally found that the new recruits were near the front of the crowd. He guided the more experienced of his group to the rookies beside the stage. He then proceeded to do a headcount of his soldiers, wanting to ensure that all his subordinates were present and accounted for. He saw Shephard, Emily, the rookies, even Max Strasbourg, but he only counted ten minus himself. Someone was missing. Colby had stayed behind. Well, that confirmed two things for him: one, a Neo-Forerunner SPARTAN was, indeed, missing, and; two, Colby had stayed behind to ensure that he did nothing crazy.

Just then, the sound of an explosion resonated to his ears, along with the rapid cracks of a machine gun. Judging by the proximity and frequency of the explosion, someone had set off some Dust. The assault rifle fire ceased almost as soon as it had begun, signifying that someone had stopped the threat. Robert turned to the entrance, wanting to get closer to the entrance just in case of an emergency. He ordered everyone else to follow suit, letting Arthur leave to his fellow Covenant freedom fighters for the same reason. He stopped when he encountered a blond girl who appeared to be about seventeen years of age. Perfect distance between the door and the stage. The only thing missing for a proper defense was actual weapons instead of annoying, multi-colored, rainbow-making, wimpy _toys_ they were lugging around like they were going to fight a horde of Hellborn with lollipops and rainbow unicorns.

Minutes later, Andrew entered the area, armor shattered across the chest piece. He did _not_ look happy in the slightest. He held up his assault rifle, which looked like it had been through a landslide, run over by a Scorpion, and blasted to pieces by the main cannon of an assault carrier. All the more reason to think that Colby was behind this. Andrew wagged the battered rifle in Robert's face, glaring at the Colonel the whole time.

"Your brother did this to me," the Brigadier General griped. "This is going on _your_ record, Lieutenant."

"_Colonel_," the younger commander corrected. "I got promoted, Brig Gen."

"_Lieutenant_ General, to you; I got promoted last year," the young General remarked, whimpering when Colby marched through, glaring daggers at the Lieutenant General as he walked towards his older brother and commander. He held up a paint-covered Leonidas, making almost everyone laugh at the rainbow-colored shield.

"You know," William commented. "That's actually a fitting color for you—."

"Just shut up, would you," Sergeant Colby ordered, still glaring at the rebel among the loyal SPARTANs. He then noticed his proximity to the nearby blond and nearly jumped out of his skin, creating a sonic boom as he took cover behind his brother and Shephard, both of whom blushed a light rose. Facing a side wall of the auditorium, Shephard had no idea just what was going on; he gave a sharp glare at Colby, then turned his head to look for whoever scared his Sergeant senseless. The reaction was priceless: he blushed so deep that an apple looked white, taking cover behind the rainbow-shield-bearing Sergeant, who paled at this.

"She's staring at me with that look," Shephard muttered in Colby's ear loudly enough for Robert to hear and understand without the blond stranger hearing. 'That look' was Shephard's universal term for strong emotion, but the way he said it made Robert laugh louder than a grenade going off in a concrete laboratory (which he had previous experience with). Both sub-commanders gave their Colonel a strange look as he lost his balance and got caught by Major Emily.

"What is it _this_ time," she demanded as her commander laughed his face off. He picked himself up and whispered something in her ear, causing _her_ to laugh maniacally with him. The blond girl looked over to the huge double doors and started yelling:

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Now Colby started blushing madly, cowering behind Robert even more while pushing Shephard out of the way. Now in plain sight, Shephard nearly tackled Robert in a bear hug, muttering 'Oh my God, it's her, I'm going to die' and causing Emily to laugh even harder and Robert struggle to stay upright under the 300-something-pound SPARTAN. The blond just stared at him and started giggling.

"I swear, it's not you," he promised, still shaking like a Scorpion on a rocky path (also with personal experience). The blond just laughed harder as Ruby approached.

"How's your day going, little sister," the blond asked Ruby, who was apparently mad at the blond.

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded," Ruby demanded. Robert finally found the source of the explosion and made an 'aha' sound.

"Yikes, meltdown already," asked the blond, who Robert was starting to recognize via the sound of her voice and her physical appearance.

"_No_, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school, and there was some fire, and I think some ice."

"Are you being sarcastic," the blond asked as Robert recognized who she was: Yang Xiao Long. Ruby Rose, her sister, scoffed.

"I wish," said Ruby. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage. And then she started yelling at me. And then I sneezed. And then I _exploded_. And then she yelled again." At this point the girl in question was none other than Weiss Schnee, who was standing _right behind Ruby_. "And I felt _really_, _really_ band and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me."

"_YOU_," Weiss Schnee yelled, causing Shephard to scream in terror, rising three feet in the air in fear and bolting right behind the shield-bearer, who just stood wide-eyed in confusion. Ruby leaped right into her sister's arms, screaming 'oh my God it's happening again'. "You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff."

"Oh my God, you really exploded," Yang trailed off. Andrew raised his hand and scratched the back of his neck.

"Actually, I accidentally let a grenade fly no thanks to _somebody that I know_." Andrew chuckled in slight embarrassment, with Robert face-palming in even more embarrassment. Weiss shot both Colby and Andrew a glare, causing both to point fingers at one another.

"Alright, who did what, you two," Robert demanded. Both soldiers still had fingers pointed at one another, Colby still glaring at Andrew as if the rebel were to blame. "Really? You're _both_ going to go pointing fingers again? I swear, you two are the most immature of the bunch I already have to deal with."

"He did most of the insanity," Andrew blamed, earning yet another glare from Colby. "See, _I_ was just gazing at some _beautiful_ bodies from a fair distance when _he_ showed up and beat me to a bloody pulp for no reason—."

"_Really_," Colby accused. "You think aiming a _sniper rifle_ at Ruby and her sister is 'gazing'? Hey, General. Newsflash! Your finger was on the trigger; if _that's_ not a threat, I don't know what is—."

"Will you two quit pointing fingers at one another," Robert nearly yelled. He huffed, trying to think of a clever way to get both soldiers to just shut the _Hell_ up. "Look, let's put this _whole_ event behind us. At this point, it's the point of the matter. If I hear that you two have gotten in more trouble by the end of the hour, I swear I'm going to kill the both of you with my bare hands. Don't even think for a second that I won't do it, because I will. I'll even let Shephard in on the fun." The soldier shivering behind Colby stood up tall once more, proud that his commanding officer would let him have some proper fun for once; then he caught sight of Weiss and dove for cover behind Robert, embarrassing the super soldier once more.

"Err… do what," Andrew muttered in confusion. Robert groaned, absolutely annoyed. Shephard slung his shotgun over his shoulder, resting it on Robert's shoulder.

"Let's make this as clear as day," Shephard growled. "Andrew, 'look' at Yang ever again, and you won't have a head to hold your eyes. Colby, try not to send Andrew flying home. Robert, don't be a hypocrite; although I appreciate your willingness to let me kill them, I won't take the opportunity because I don't really like this side of you. Let's try not to make me use Betsy on your faces." The soldier leaned in closer to his commander. "Fair warning, Robert, I'm not really in a sparing mood right now, so if you test me right now, I swear I'll shoot you." Robert's eyes widened at the threat, fearing for his own life now.

"Yeah," they heard Weiss mention. "And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and scraggly over there." Every single soldier nearby heard the end of the other argument and stared at the two forces. They heard Ruby's enthusiasm, and Weiss's sarcastic response, but it didn't change the fact that this strange argument. Colby and Andrew stared at the white-haired girl in absolute confusion as a familiar voice come on the loud speakers in the auditorium.

"I'll… keep this brief," Professor Ozpin declared, probably not wanting to be here anymore than the other students here did. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone new craft and acquire new skills; and, when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He stepped away from the microphone and let yet another authoritative figure, someone Robert recognized and referred to as Goodwitch, step up to the podium.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight," said Goodwitch. "Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." She, too, stepped away from the mic, letting none other than General Thomas Sanderson take the stage.

"Some of you may have heard that a new academy has branched off from this school," he began. "Well, those rumors are true, and I am the headmaster and leading drill instructor there. If you are one of the solemn few who have been accepted into this academy, you will notice that your weapons have been refitted for paintball. I will go over that when you are assigned squadrons and/or armies after initiation. You will go through the initiation process with everyone else in the academy, along with attending classes with the other students here and going through multi-cultural classes with me. This is something you Beacon students should pay attention to as well: should I deem you good enough, I will grant you access into this new defense training academy and given paintball weapons most like your own. However, regardless, some of the activities in my training program will involve you students; don't worry, it won't get too violent. I hope. Either which way, good luck to you all. Dis_missed_!" Sanderson left the stage, allowing all the students to have some free time before they met in the ballroom Goodwitch was talking about.

"He seemed kind of… off," Yang commented.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby agreed. Colby nodded in agreement, not realizing which headmaster she was talking about.

"Which one, Ozpin or Sanderson," Shephard questioned.

"I'm a natural blond, you know," a random boy with blond hair came up out of nowhere. Weiss face-palmed, leaving the soldiers in confusion as to what just happened.

*In the ballroom, around 20:30 (8:30 PM)*

Every first-year student in Beacon was already in the ballroom, in their pajamas and ready to doze off. Even the more restless students were starting to hit the snooze button on their internal alarm clocks. It seemed as though everyone was wanting to rest up for tomorrow. Everyone, that is, except for the seven ranking officers still loyal to the ideals of the original Guardians.

"I still can't believe we've made it this far," Toby stated as clear as day. Max nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," Shephard muttered. "It's been one Hell of a ride. Even I think it's been a little too adventurous."

"Finally he admits it," Arthur joked. Brandon, his Sangheili friend and sub-commander, chuckled at this, knowing all too well just how suicidal the First Lieutenant's actions could be. Shephard just shot them a glare, then went to cleaning out his new paintball shotgun, using a screwdriver to take off the stock of the rifle. Joseph did the same with his shorter, paint-dispensing dull paintball daggers.

"To be honest, I think it would be wise to check up on out new weapons," Joseph justified. "In the instance that we are in battle, we should know that our weapons work in peak condition instead of breaking down every two seconds." Shephard just grunted and moved elsewhere along the wall they all leaned against.

"Well, he certainly seems enthusiastic about not having his shotgun," Emily commented.

"I'm a little worried, to be honest," Robert stated. "He hasn't been this mad before. He's been this way since we first dropped here. Kind of worrying, if you ask me."

"He's probably just a little stressed out," Emily tried. It didn't work.

"Nah, he's been through combat situations like that before. He's even been through a heavy battlefield before, and made it out without a scratch on his personality."

"Maybe he's a little shaken up about the rookies," she tried again.

"Yeah, that's probably it. But what about him running away when Weiss just came out of nowhere?"

Just then, the seven super soldiers heard yelling from across the room. They recognized the voices: Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. Colby then groaned, picking up his shield and paintball pistol. He stood up and zoomed over to their position. Seconds later, they all heard his slightly hoarse voice rise to a near roar, yelling at the three girls to, quote unquote, "Shut the holy Hell up" before he shut it for them. He then walked over to a window near Shephard and leaped up, leaning against the window.

*Colby, 1st person, 8:30 on the dot*

At around that time, I was busy cleaning my paint-covered Leonidas, frustrated as ever at whoever that guy was. I could've sworn my brother knew him once, which would explain the harsh feelings between the two. I was in my pajamas: white socks, dark gray cargo shorts, and a green shirt with his insignia—a bright white image of a flaming dove—emblazoned on the right shoulder. I was still plenty frustrated by the fact that we lost two rookies, rookies who never got the chance to live their lives out as long as I have. Upon hearing Shephard fess up to his true feelings about this little 'adventure' of ours, some of my anger lifted a little. Not much, but a little. Thanks to joking from Arthur and Brandon, though, he got up and left less than five seconds after he fessed up. Well, add that to the list of downers of this week.

I checked the time on my Scroll, only to find that it's still _way_ earlier than I usually get to bed when I'm stressed. Thankfully, I still wasn't tired yet.

Not a second after I check the time than I heard Ruby Rose and her sister—I assume her name is Yang Xiao Long—start beating each other to senseless pulps. I toned out all the other conversations (because _Physics_) and listened in on their scuffle. I heard footsteps close in on them, and look up to see that it's not a real threat. Only, it is a real threat… to other people's sleep, that is.

"What in the world is going on over here," I could hear none other than Weiss Schnee, the one and only human here who could tip me off faster than lightning. Key word: human. That 'Andrew' guy really gets on my nerves. "Don't you realize that some of us are trying to sleep." The gripe-in-a-combat-skirt found and recognized Ruby and screamed "OH, NOT YOU AGAIN." The argument skyrocketed more before I'd finally had enough. I picked myself up off the ground, grabbed the now-clean Leonidas, my self-built paintball pistol cleverly named 'Blindside', and felt the rage come on.

The trip only took, like, a split second, but I passed the grouchy Shephard on the way, and I guess I broke the sound barrier, but Weiss was getting extremely annoying.

"WEISS, COULD YOU SHUT THE HOLY HELL UP BEFORE I SHUT IT FOR YOU," I practically screamed, using the winding air to amplify my voice. I slammed Leonidas into the floor at around 80 miles per hour, snatching the shield back up as it bounced back. I huffed, frustrated beyond any and all belief, not realizing that I was letting my eyes glow a pale white. I walked over to a window near Shephard, who looked up and gave me a small nod and grin, both of which I returned in kind. I came up, right beneath the window sill, and jumped. Even a normal Guardian would have an issue with doing that, but I don't even have to try if I wanted to—all I really have to do is use the wind currents to my advantage, then release myself at the desired pressure and _BANG_! I'm up.

I caught the window sill, and pulled myself up. I swung my legs up over the ledge, facing the direction from which I just came. I bent my left knee at a near ninety degree angle, letting my right leg relax on the board. No one knows how I can be so nimble; then again, I know better than to tell. I dig out the music player I always keep with me and put in my earbuds. I turned on the small, holographic device, scrolling through the playlist when it was on. I found the song I wanted to listen to—Freakshow by Skillet—and hit the play button. I felt the anger tone down as the music started playing. William—Shephard's brother and my friend—never understood why I listen to them, but I don't think he cares; he listens to rap, rock, and other EDM stuff, so he must think I'm 'soft-core'. I folded my fingers and rested my hands behind my head, leaning back on the wall.

Nearly a minute later, I looked out the window, admiring the stars outside. This was one of those times that I questioned my purpose in this life. I fell asleep gazing up to the stars, Leonidas on my back and Blindside on my waist.

After two other Skillet songs had played—Monster and Comatose—I was awakened by someone throwing a pillow up at me. My silver-blue eyes opened white as snow and shining like flashlights, but that faded as I heard a familiar voice call up to me (even though it wasn't that high up).

"Colby," Ruby called up. "What are you doing up there?" I looked down to see Ruby in her pajamas, staring up at me with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Thinking," I spoke. This did nothing to calm her down.

"Don't you think that's a bit high up," she asked.

"If I can run at supersonic speed, I can survive a ten foot fall," I responded. Nope, feathers still ruffled.

"Well, I still think you should come down," she tried again. I acknowledged and jumped down, landing on one knee in front of her. I rose back to my full, towering height and looked down the three inches to her silver eyes.

"Feel better," I asked. She shrugged, then turned back to her bed, wherever that was. I turned around and walked over to my own bed, not at all looking forward to the insanity of tomorrow…

A/N: Wow. That was a long chapter. I mean, sure it's not the longest I've ever done, but it's close.

**BTW**: while I did add a couple of OCs to the story, they are not the ones suggested by other authors. They are of my own creation, and are extremely vital to the story.

**BWT(2)**: I did some research on the Covenant species in the game. The Sangheili are known as the Elites in the game, so when you read the word 'Sangheili', think 'Elites'. Warning: I will put in other Covenant species, and one of them will be different from the game version of the species so then it actually makes sense in the story. Keep in mind that all the species I mention in the story look like humans, but can bring their other forms (the ones you see them as in the game) out when they please. Arthur, due to his human side, cannot do this as easily as others of his species.

**SCHEDULE WARNING:** I am officially a Beta for someone. If you want to read his story, then feel free to do so.

**Author Name: **Master Edge 2

**Story Name:** The Sustenance of Legends

I think that about sums this up. You know the drill: review if you want, favorite, follow, et cetera. Send me a PM if you have an OC/plotline request. I must warn you that the next chapter may get dull, it may get action-packed, it may get _**very**_ long. It all depends. Until next chapter. Peace.


	7. Record 2: Initiation Insanity

Well, I've got a handful of icepacks at the ready, because this chapter is going to be (and already has been) a headache and a half. I plan to go all the way through the initiation process straight on to the teams and the General's plans for the soldiers attending the UNSC Foreign Training Grounds (jeez, I had to go back and look at last chapter to get that). I'm sitting here with the document for last chapter open so then I can remember every change I made, along with YouTube up so then I can remember how RWBY Episodes 4-8 went (though I don't think I'll really use it that much).

With that out of the way, let's get on with things. Hopefully I don't have to go back to last chapter for the disclaimer.

I own none of the characters from RWBY or Halo (like Master Chief, who will be used, SPOILER ALERT). I do, however, own the other characters (like Joe Crowley, who I am currently writing an eBook series for). I do not own the plotline for the Halo games or for RWBY; only the events which do not occur in either storyline do I own, if I own any of those *hint hint*.

* * *

Halo: The Next Generation

Record II: Revolution and Redemption

Part 5: Initiation Insanity

* * *

*Robert, 07:00*

Robert awoke to the sun beaming on his face, the peace of silence in his ears. He didn't want to get up; he wanted this war, the rebellion, to end. He wanted to stay here, knowing that peace was, once again, abundant across the land; sadly, he knew that wouldn't be possible. As if to emphasize that point, he could see a shadow pass over his face from behind his eyelids. He opened his eyes to see… huh? Nothing. How weird…

"Hello," a singsong voice came from out of nowhere, causing him to spring into action. He got up with a speed that could rival even the most trained soldier's speed, grabbing his rifle and leveling it with the source. The redhead he recognized as Nora Valkyrie flinched, her hand reaching for her strange hammer/gun crossbreed.

"Oh," he muttered, lowering the rifle. "It's just you. What do you want?" She giggled.

"Your team told me to tell you to get up," she said in her usual bubbly voice. "And also that your original weapons have been returned to you, whatever that's supposed to mean." His eyes widened as he looked down at his rifle. Yep. And it looked as good as new.

"Well, that was surprisingly good news," he breathed, feeling much better now that his trusty turbulence rifle was back. "Where are the others—?"

"Right here, Colonel," Shephard called from behind him, causing him to turn around. There Shephard was, holding out his hand for Robert to shake. Robert shook hands with his First Lieutenant. "Have a good sleep, Colonel?"

"Please," Robert laughed. "Call me Robert."

"Oh, alright, _fine_, Colonel." Robert smiled at this. After a brief conversation with the First Lieutenant, he turned around to take a quick shower and get dressed for the insanity that was bound to ensue.

Fifteen minutes later he came out, wearing his standard-issue training clothes: a yellow t-shirt with the UNSC insignia, black cargo shorts, combat boots, and his folded-up SPARTAN armor (WEAPONS NOTE: the torso, thighs, and helmet of the SPARTAN armor fold into a backpack, while the boots and calves/shins of the armor fold into the heels of the combat boots. The gloves and arms become the straps of the backpack. The weight doesn't change, retaining its heavy weight of 6000 pounds for Robert, nothing he can't, or hasn't, handle[d]).

He found himself in the mess hall, pouring warm coffee down his throat with Major Emily. There, he learned that the ODST loyalists had names and numbers for their SPARTAN status: Robert-117 for him, Emily-141 for her, Colby-333 for his brother, Shephard-037 for Shephard, Arbiter-SH1 for Arthur, and so on. He felt that the 'Robert-117' and 'Emily-141' meant something, but he had no idea why. At the very least, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Soon after, he found himself in the 'locker room' as he and his teammates called it, a room stuffed to the brim with rocket propelled lockers. He heard a confusing and annoying conversation that began with Weiss Schnee and a top-of-class warrior who could easily beat down an ODST General or SPARTAN Private—Pyrrha Nikos—and eventually ended up with Jaune Arc, a young farm boy, pinned to a wall.

Then came the last thing on his agenda: initiation. Professor Ozpin spoke first:

"For years, you have trained to become warriors; and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Goodwitch, whose full name he recently learned was Glynda Goodwitch, took over.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion: each of you will be given teammates… today." Robert swallowed.

"Only for Beacon students, soldiers," Sanderson reassured the band of misfits.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"_What_," Ruby Rose screamed in a sudden fit of unhappiness.

"Excuse me," Colby asked. "But what about those of us attending the Foreign Training Grounds?"

"You won't be assigned teams, but entire militias," Sanderson informed, clearly unhappy with the young soldier boy. "Were you even listening to me, boy?"

"Um… no?"

"After you've partnered up," Ozpin continued. "Make your way to the northern end of the Forest; you will meet our position along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair much choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade that appropriately. Are there any questions? Good."

"Soldiers," Sanderson instructed before the Beacon students were vaulted into the forest. "You will participate, but do _not_ take a relic; reserve those for the Beacon students. I, along with Professor Vicksburg here, will be monitoring your progress as you proceed through the forest. You are allowed to make temporary truces upon eye contact with either a fellow soldier or a student from Beacon with at least a slight nod or weak handshake. As Ozpin said, destroy every threat in your way or die trying. Keep your comm channels open, use your AI's when you get the chance, and—most importantly—good luck."

All of a sudden, the ground beneath one of the soldier boys exploded, vaulting him into the air over the forest before them. Velocity mines. They were using velocity mines to launch.

"What the Hell," Alex Jameson, one of the numerous rebel SPARTAN rookies, screamed before being blown there. Robert would've laughed at this had he not realized that one of his own rookies, Thomas Peters, was next.

"Velocity mines," Joseph Crowley analyzed. "Non-lethal explosives used to propel enemies and teammates alike hundreds of feet into the air. The sheer power of the launch won't kill us, but the fall will if we don't land correctly."

"Great," Toby McSumners groaned sarcastically. "How are we going to get out of this one?"

"Get your armor on mid-flight," Robert suggested. Toby swallowed just before being launched sky high. "Or just scream at the top of your lungs and hope to Hell that you won't die upon landing. That'd be good, too." Toby screamed something inaudible as he flailed his arms like a ragdoll and tried to reach for his suit's release joint.

"He's not going to survive, is he," Emily asked him.

"Nah, he'll survive," Robert argued. Colby shook his head.

"He's totally dead," the young boy stated flatly.

"He'll be fine," the older still argued.

"He's a goner," Shephard corrected.

"Meh, you win. He's dead."

"Not yet," William Jackson promised before being launched with the explosive. The young Lance Corporal activated his jetpack, flying over to the Sergeant Major and activating his heavy SPARTAN armor seconds before Toby hit the ground. William turned on his communication link and smarted off with a 'Told you so'.

"Well, wish me luck," Colby said before pulling out Leonidas. The explosive sent him flying, but he went flying even further for almost no apparent reason. Robert just shrugged it off, knowing that he'd find out eventually.

* * *

*Colby, 1st Person, before he was launched*

I didn't feel comfortable with the armor on my back, but I knew I was required to wear it. Then again, I never feel comfortable in armor; it just feels so inhibiting. I saw Toby launched by the explosives and began formulating a plan.

"He's not going to survive, is he," I heard Major Emily ask my brother. Said brother just shook his head, still looking up at the Sergeant Major.

"Nah, he'll survive," the Colonel that is my brother argued. I shook my head, trying to tell him otherwise.

"He's totally dead," I spoke, trying to make it the most obvious thing I've ever said. He still argued his point until Shephard told him otherwise, then William—right next to me at the time—corrected all of us after his own launch.

"Told you so," he said via his communication link. I was next; time to make my move.

"Well, wish me luck," I said while pulling out Leonidas. I felt the air pressure around my legs and feet intensify as I prepared for launch. The explosive went off, and I let the pressure around me send me even further. I felt the wind blowing in my face as I activated my own SPARTAN armor and began the speedy descent to the forest floor. I closed my eyes, counting the seconds until I should open my eyes.

Five. I imagined the forest floor, seeing a general map of the area. I saw the Beacon students employing their own landing strategies, the other SPARTANs of his squadron flying through the air and the Sangheili forces preparing for their own launches.

Four. I felt the armor snap around my arms, my hands, my torso, my legs, everything on me. I could feel the individual joints of the armor locking into place, providing extra protection for me.

Three. The armor had almost finished snapping together by this time, just as I'd had it built. The entire set weighed around 2200 pounds, but that included the weapons, Leonidas, and the AI unit box for Ares. The armor itself only weighed 1800 pounds, with the AI unit box cutting a close 290 pounds; with Leonidas only weighing 40 pounds, the rest of the weapons took up the remaining 70 pounds.

Two. The helmet to the entire SPARTAN armor snapped into place. Ares came online just as the suit powered up. Leonidas locked on to the right forearm of the suit, and the automatic pistol on my waist slid into my left hand.

One. My eyes opened as I reached the final seconds of my descent. I could see my descending velocity to be 135 miles per hour. I passed Robert, Emily, Shephard, William, and basically all the other SPARTANs in my squadron before I flipped around so my feet were closest to the ground. Again building air pressure around me, I slammed into the earth, using the air to lessen the impact and send any hostile creatures near me flying. One or two of the wolf-like Grimm creatures—which I had learned were called 'Beowolves'—went flying, along with one of those pig things whose name escapes me.

I rose from my semi-crouch, albeit a little bit unsteadily. 'Alright,' I thought to myself. 'I can't play the lone wolf, so I need to find someone nearby. Beware of rebels. Now who all do I know?'

I relaxed my shoulders, preparing to go from zero to sixty. My left foot slid behind my right ever so slowly, giving me more leverage for when I launched off; as I did so, my torso slowly became more and more parallel with the ground to reduce air resistance and friction upon take-off. My legs tensed up, and I rocketed through the forest like the ultimate predator with a metal shield for a maw and a .12 gauge automatic pistol for claws.

'Alright, let's see who all I know in this school,' I tried to remember after one or two minutes of running through the forest, dodging trees and logs when I could. 'There's Weiss; then again, she does more griping than anything else, so I think she'll just slow me down. There's Ruby. No, not Ruby; she may be good with a weapon, she may be half as fast as I am, but she's no soldier and I'd rather not have any unnecessary casualties. Well, there's Shephard. Nah, he and I never really mixed well; we may work well as a team, but he and I will never get along. What about Joseph? Meh, he's no different from a drill instructor; always yelling at me to pick up the pace, even when I'm basically going through a slip-space hole. Arthur, maybe? Hmm, I don't think that that'd be a good idea.' My mind was still rushing as I put my shield between me and a few of the bear things I've come to know as 'Ursas'. The black, bone-plated Grimm went flying in pieces as I slammed into them Leonidas-first. 'Well, who else do I know? Weiss, Ruby, Shephard, Joseph, Robert, Arthur, Emily, William, Yang, Ares, Ozpin, Goodwitch... almost no one else...' My eyes widened as I neared a fallen tree, swinging Leonidas out in front of my chest and digging my right heel into the ground in front of me.

The log exploded into a shower of splinters, sending me tumbling as I tripped over my own footing. I must've slid for five yards before stopping, because my helmet was choked with dirt and grime. I peeled myself off the ground, practically ripping my head out of my helmet once on my two good feet. A good swear or two flew from my mouth as sunlight burned my eyes, twice as bright as the shaded interior of the helmet. I opened my eyes to find that I'd landed right in front of not one, but _two_ girls I didn't want to make eye contact with: Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. Well, Hell; how am I going to get myself out of this one?

"Well, this is awkward," I commented. The two girls just turned the other direction and walked off. "Okay. I can fend for myself. One lone SPARTAN against an army of Grimm, rebels, and God only knows what else. Of course." Twenty seconds later, I heard a jetpack pop; upon looking up, I saw William begin falling towards the dense canopy. He landed still screaming as though still falling, causing the two girls he nearly landed on to shriek in terror. Seconds later, Weiss and Ruby both emerged, Weiss looking furious and Ruby seeming somewhat shaken.

"This by _no_ means makes us friends," Weiss clarified as she patted my left hand. Ruby soon followed with a similar gesture, probably not used to seeing my hair as messy as it was. I turned around, beginning to follow the two girls through the forest.

"Did I ask if we could be," I demanded, to which she just scoffed. "I didn't think so."

* * *

*Shephard, first person, upon landing*

I landed with one knee on the ground, .64 gauge shotgun in hand. My grayish armor had wrapped around my body mid-flight; now the bright white '037' gleaming on the front left portion of the breastplate. I looked up, searching for any threats before I stood up. That was one of the numerous problems I've seen with both my brother William _and_ Robert's brother Colby: they stood up before searching the area for threats. I've gotten used to it over the years, but it still scared me senseless to know that they could be completely surrounded and still be that careless. At the very least, it made me a little nervous.

I heard gunfire from a familiar weapon to my left. Friendly forces, only forty-two yards due east-by-northeast of my location. If my instincts were correct on who it was, then said forces shouldn't have an issue dealing with any nearby Grimm. 'Still,' my instincts warned me. 'You can never be too certain with the Hellborn...'

Just then, red dots surrounded the now-two yellow dots on my radar just east of the center. My eyes widened as I recognized the sounds of Hellborn Gremlins echoing through the bits of forest to my left. I knew that Yang could hold her own in a fight, but she's never faced a horde of Hellborn before. I turned to the source of the sound on a dime and started a somewhat quick jog towards the threat. More gunfire emerged just as I entered the forest yet again.

As if my nightmares weren't bad enough, I saw Hellborn surrounding Yang and a black-haired girl with a matching bow fending for themselves against a horde of Hellborn Gremlins and the much larger Titans. My mind began to fly, pending on what to do. A Titan smashing its massive fist into both girls made that decision for me: I locked a shell into place and charged the aggressors, throwing a punch of my own—straight through one of the medium-sized Titans. The attention of the beasts turned on me as I swung the stock of the shotgun around, slicing five of the twenty Gremlins present clean in half while simultaneously throwing another Titan off balance. The stock landed back in my hand as I shoved the open end of the barrel up the jaw of the Titan in front of the two civilians. The Titan shattered like a fragmentation grenade as the trigger was pulled, sending pieces of shredded Titan body armor flying into the bodies of ten more Gremlins and two more Titans. I pulled out a grenade, ripped off the pin, and shoved it down the black throat of one of the five remaining Gremlins, tossing the Gremlin aside as though it were a molded apple core; the last of the Gremlins popped like balloons as the grenade went off. Then came the bigger threat, the last remaining Hellborn: a Chimera, a ferocious, lizard-shaped beast that both spewed fire and bit with poison-covered fangs. Thankfully, there was only one, but even one was a challenge for me. I swallowed, staring directly into the eyes of the beast before me like a predator does to intimidate its prey.

It was like a dance, really; I was one partner, the Chimera was the other. I stared directly into its glowing yellow eyes, it stared into my somewhat white eyes. It circled around me like a predator, sweeping its spiked tail around like a low-end chain mace; I circled around it, daggers, grenades, and shotgun at the ready for my disposal. Its fangs were glistening with toxic saliva; my eyes shone with a determination like no other. It wanted nothing but to devour my flesh and the flesh of the two girls still recovering by the tree; I wasn't going to go down until it was dead and the two young women were as safe as could be in these conditions. Its black scales were shaded by the forest canopy; my gray SPARTAN armor sparkled in the sunlight of the man-made (more Yang-made) clearing. Both I and the opposition stopped our deadly waltz, with me standing between Yang and the growling beast. Seconds passed before anything happened.

The Chimera was first to lunge. Like an over-sized lion on steroids, it pounced and batted away my rifle. I was sent tumbling, but somehow landed on my feet. It was still charging at me, so I dove out of the way, letting it slam into a tree behind me. I tried jumping up on its back, but it swatted me out of the air like a massive fly. I skidded to a halt five yards in front of the two girls. I peeled my body off the ground, looking for my shotgun. I found it, but it was closer to the Chimera than I'd expected. In addition to that, I only had one dagger and three grenades left. An idea formulated in my head as I pulled out a grenade and the dagger. As expected, the grenade stuck to the handle of the blade. I the same thing with the other two grenades, then pulled the pin and flung the deadly combination.

The blade entered the beast's hind shoulder, temporarily immobilizing it. It roared in pain as I ran for cover.

"Get to cover," I ordered the girls as I ran past them. They complied, albeit a little reluctantly. They ducked behind a tree, and I dove to the same place just as the sticky fragmentation grenades went off. The fireball was ferocious, especially because Chimera scales had a tendency to spontaneously ignite.

I inched around the corner to see the carnage. Sure enough, my dangerous plan, my insane luck, paid off: the dagger and grenades had blown the Chimera' hind legs clean off, shattering every supportive bone, every dense structure in its body. The creature, unless it had regenerative abilities, was permanently immobile. I stepped out from behind the tree, picked up my shotgun—which had blown closer to me in the explosion—and came up to the beast so that I could shoot it without it biting or barbecuing me. I locked one last shell into place.

"Any last words, big guy," I asked, knowing that it probably didn't care enough to say any last words. Oddly enough, it did.

"_You think you've won, boy_," it demanded in a raspy, withering voice. "_You have no idea what's coming. There are more powerful beings out there that even I don't know about, and you alone, with your puny army and pitiful humans to fight the war on your lonesome._" I raised the rifle.

"Is that it," I demanded. The dying beast just snorted, signaling a go-ahead. I leveled the barrel with the beast's head, clicked the safety off, and pulled the trigger. The sharp crack of the shotgun was the last thing that the beast would ever hear as the single, devastating bullet sliced through its failing skull, cutting through its dying brain and ending its fading life. I turned to the girls, putting away the deadly .64 gauge shotgun, only to see Yang holding my SPARTAN helmet in one hand.

"What the," I nearly shouted, reaching for the helmet that clearly wasn't there. I groaned, knowing that the beast had knocked it off. "Thanks, Yang."

"No problem," she responded, giving me the helmet as I walked over to them. "Great to see you again."

"Yep," I muttered in agreement. "Nearly three years, Yang. _Three years_. It's a miracle that I'm still alive." I reached out my hand, and she shook it. The alliance between I and the two young women was official.

'I wonder how the rest of the gang is faring,' I mentally pondered as I pulled up a map via Sherman and searched for the abandoned temple.

* * *

*Robert, 1st person, soon after landing*

I was breathing heavy by the time it was all said and done, but I'd eventually cleared out the few Titans in the area. That was one jump scare I did _not_ want to repeat.

"Well, that was, err... surprising," I joked as I stood back up from the last kill. I turned back around to see that Pyrrha and Jaune had both already moved on. I sprinted back to their advancing position as I screamed "Hey, wait up".

"Jeez, you guys move fast," I gasped for air as I finally caught up. "Please. Please do me a favor and don't leave a SPARTAN behind like that again."

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha apologized. She pushed a broken branch out of her way, accidentally smacking Jaune in the face with said branch. "Jaune? I'm sorry."

"Eh, it's okay," he assured. "Just a scratch." He stood up on his own, lucky that he didn't have 6000 pound armor strapped to his back.

"Why didn't you activate your Aura," she asked the boy. Both Jaune and I gave a small "Huh". "Your Aura." Something inaudible escaped from Jaune's lips as I just tilted my head and gave a more elaborate "Ehhhhhh".

"Do you... know what Aura is," she demanded.

"Eh... _nein_," I said in German, knowing she would probably understand that I had little to no idea about what she was saying. Jaune was a little more elaborate in lying about him knowing about as much as I did.

"Do you know what Aura is," the younger boy asked in a really snarky attitude.

"Aura is the manifestation of our soul," Pyrrha went on to explain. "It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt like you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"

"Uh... yeah," Jaune responded.

"I call that Instinct," I stated clear as day. "Unless Aura is, like, some heightened sixth sense, I'll just go on to say that Aura is basically my Instinct."

"With practice," she continued. "Our Aura can be our shield; everyone has it, even animals."

"What about monsters," Jaune asked. This was sounding to me like a more basic form of Instinct.

"No," was the response. "The monsters we fight lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity; they are the darkness, and we are the light." Okay, maybe Aura is a more heightened sense of Instinct.

"Right," Jaune complied. "That's why we fight them."

"It's not about why; it's about knowing." That sounded like a phrase I'd heard as a kid; something like 'knowing is half the battle', or something like that. "Understanding both dark and light helps us manifest our Aura; everyone has some of both."

"Borderlining creepy," Saevio spoke out of nowhere. "This sounds a lot like a mythical or religious version of Instinct."

"Agreed," I sided with the green AI on my shoulder.

"By bearing your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm," the human girl pressed onward. "All our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura. You project yourself and your soul when fighting."

"It's like a force field," Jaune answered excitedly.

"It's a good way of saying Instinct," I flatly corrected, unimpressed with this long, drawn-out explanation of Aura/Instinct.

"Yes, if you want to look at it that way," Pyrrha spoke to the both of us, stepping closer to Jaune. "Now, close your eyes and concentrate."

"Uh, okay," Jaune complied as she placed a hand on his face.

"Well, the redhead's crazy," my AI generalized, to which I just shushed the green figure on my right shoulder. Just then, something crazy and creepy happened: saying some mythical bull-pileup, Pyrrha began to glow a faint shade of red. "Or, I'm going to go die in a hole."

"Shut up, Saevio," I ordered the small green figure. More mythical words, and Jaune began to glow as well. "Okay, maybe you're right." By the end of Pyrrha's mystical chant, she stopped glowing and slightly lost balance—her stamina was fading a little—but Jaune was still glowing a bright white.

"Pyrrha," Jaune reacted, probably scared a little at this loss of stamina.

"It's alright," she calmed his nerves. "I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own." My jaw nearly fell off upon seeing Jaune's small cut fade into nothingness. "You have a lot of it."

"Wow," the glowing boy muttered in awe as he looked down at his hands, witnessing his glow fade as the scar did. Saevio and I both stared on at this event.

"Now that's just creepy," Saevio admitted. I nodded.

"Nope; it's just like Instinct, give or take a few minor differences such as the eerie glowing and such—."

"Let's just keep going. I don't have a map with me, so we may have to experiment." We all complied to the little green hologram's wishes.

* * *

*Atop the cliff, 3rd person*

Glynda Goodwitch walked up to the edge of the cliff—right next to Professor Ozpin and General Sanderson—holding a glass tablet of some kind.

"Our last pair has been formed, sir," she notified the both of them. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy; I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than miss Nikos." Ozpin made a grunting sound, probably saying he's interested. "I don't care what his transcripts say; that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." She closed the window on her tablet. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"As for the soldiers," Sanderson informed Ozpin, staring at his own holographic image from an AI projection. "The final alliances have been made: Shephard Jackson with Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna; Robert James with Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc; Colby James with Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee; Arthur Phylarchus with Brandon Thardison, on their way to Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie; Emily Johnson with Sarah and Emma Washington en route to the temple; William Jackson with Toby McSumners and Max Strasbourg." He sighed. "I feel sorry for Colby; I have a feeling that those two girls could argue over a rock all this year and half of the next before killing each other. I seriously don't know how any of them could survive." He touched a circle on the projection, and the whole thing shut off. "I wouldn't be surprised if they all killed each other by the end of today." Goodwitch turned around and checked something else on her tablet.

"At their current pace," Goodwitch continued. "They should reach the temple in just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what are you using as relics this year?" No response. "Professor Ozpin?" Both headmasters seemed too buried into something to respond...

* * *

*Colby, 1st person, in a clearing*

I was busy cleaning off my shield, waiting for us to get a move on. Weiss was pacing around the clearing, trying to figure out which way we were supposed to be going. Ruby was sitting down, picking at leaves on the ground, bored out of her mind. I was waiting until Weiss admitted that she was completely turned around, knowing full and well that we were going south instead of north.

"It's definitely this way," she said, walking to the east. "I mean, this way; it's _definitely_ this way," to the west. She stopped at Ruby's right. "Alright, it's official; we've passed it."

"We never even came near it," I smarted off, earning me a glare. I just turned on the holographic map. "Okay, look here. This is north, this is the temple, this is south. We landed here, and walked south for a good solid hour until we came to this position, where you've been pacing around for thirty minutes, going east and west and trying to decide where the Hell we are. Therefore, we never even came close to it."

"Okay," she ordered me. "If you know exactly where we're going, then why don't you lead us there."

"Why can't you just admit that you have no idea where we're going," Ruby griped.

"Because I know _exactly_ where we're going," Weiss argued. "We're going... to... the forest temple." Ruby just scoffed. "Oh, stop it; you don't know where we are, either." I face palmed.

"Well, at least I'm not pretending like I know everything," Ruby returned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a big, stupid jerk and I _hate_ you!" Weiss groaned.

"Just keep moving." I just stayed stock still, staring at the two. I hated arguments, but these two were taking it to a whole new level. Driving me nuts was an understatement; these girls were making me angry with their bickering.

"Oh, just keep moving," Ruby mocked the white-haired heiress. "Hurry up. Wah, watch where you're going. Why are you so bossy?"

"I'm not bossy," Weiss countered. "Don't say things like that."

"Stop treating me like a kid!"

"Stop acting like a kid!"

"Well stop acting like you're perfect!"

"I'm _not_ perfect! Not yet; but I'm still leagues better than you—."

That's it.

"Dammit all," I screamed, causing ripples in the air from the sheer volume of my yelling. "Quit arguing before all Hell breaks loose!" I huffed, causing electricity to arc from my broad shoulders, and stormed off to the north. The argument stopped in its tracks, but I was still angry beyond all limitations. I shoved my helmet on and told Ares to shut up. And they said that they didn't know why I was so anti-social from the start; they were just too busy arguing over random things like this.

* * *

*Shephard, 1st person, at the ruins*

The ruins actually looked pretty cool; they looked like an old set of Celtic ruins from the ancient Guardians. We were standing at the perfect vantage point for me to see the ruins. I stood silent, memorizing every feature in awe.

"Think this is it," Yang asked the other girl—whose name I soon found was Blake—who just gave Yang a short look before walking down to the ruins. I nodded, noticing that these 'relics' were nothing more than chess pieces.

"Well, this is most certainly interesting," I commented, staring at the chess pieces.

"Chess pieces," Blake stared at a black queen.

"Some of them are missing," Yang noticed. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"Good eye," I commented before noticing a few bullet holes and purple crystals impaled in one of the pillars. "9 millimeter rounds. Automatic rifle fire. Needler gun crystals. Someone's been in a fight recently. Keep watch over there; these intruders could still be lurking." I pulled out my twin Magnums and started looking for intruders.

"Well, I guess we should pick one," Blake decided.

"Yeah," I spoke, still keeping watch. "And while you two do that, I'll keep an eye on the radar. Keep any of those, you know, those things I beat down back there. That'd be good, too."

* * *

*Robert, 1st person, nearby some cave*

"Think this is it," Jaune inquired of Pyrrha. I shook my helmeted head.

"I don't think so," I argued. "The forest temple should look like ancient ruins, shouldn't it?"

"Nah, this is it," Jaune told me off. I shrugged.

"Okay, whatever." I allowed Saevio to keep an eye on the radar as we entered the cave.

Thirty yards into the cave, and I started feeling nervous. While Jaune had, indeed, made a torch, it still didn't shake my feeling of uneasiness.

"I don't think this is it," Pyrrha admitted. Jaune sighed upon hearing this.

"Pyrrha," he clarified. "I made the torch. Could you at least humor me for, maybe, five more feet." One more step, and he tumbled and fell. The torch went out due to the water on the cave floor. I sighed at this, darkness surrounding the vicinity except for inside my helmet.

"Do you feel that," Pyrrha asked as Jaune got up.

"Soul-crushing regret," he asked.

"No, it's... warm," she corrected. "Robert, do you have headlamps?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," I responded, flicking a switch on the side of my helmet. The headlamps lit the entire cave system, allowing me to see everywhere in the system. Well, almost everywhere, but good enough.

* * *

*Shephard, 1st person*

"Hmmm...," Yang muttered thoughtfully as I kept watch over the massive clearing.

"How 'bout a cute little pony," Yang suggested, holding up a white knight 'relic'. Blake just rolled her eyes and said "Sure". The two walked over to each other and stopped in the center of the 'temple'.

"That wasn't so hard," Yang spoke up.

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find," Blake stated as if it were clear as day.

* * *

*Robert, 1st person*

We came across another curve in the cave system; I turned off my headlamp due to a source of light just around the corner. The source came from the glint of a... something or other that looked like the barb of a scorpions tail... uh-oh.

"That's the relic," Jaune nearly shouted. He began reaching for the object in question.

"Saevio," I asked the AI. "You don't happen to see any... biothermal energy like, I don't know, right in front of us, do you?" A picture came on my HUD. "There's Pyrrha. There's Jaune. Then there's... oh my God."

The scorpion's tail flinched, making Jaune upset.

"Hey," he scolded the tip of the tail. "Bad relic." He tried once more, then actually jumped and caught the tail, yelling "Gotcha".

"Jaune," Pyrrha spoke a little too late. The scorpion's body started glowing. I pulled out my turbulence rifle and leveled it with one of its ugly red eyes.

* * *

*Shephard, 1st person*

We all heard the scream, but we all had different views on it. I knew it was some poor old guy who just so happened to stumble upon the wrong thing, but Yang though otherwise.

"Some girl's in trouble," Yang informed us, herself not fully informed on the situation. "Blake, did you hear that?" The black-haired girl wasn't listening to the blond, instead looking up in a decent terror.

Just then, something caught my radar: three more yellow dots, one large black bird-like figure, and two absolutely massive red dots closing in on our location.

"Hey, Shephard," I heard Joseph Crowley say. "Anything on radar?"

"My God," was my response to both the radar and my friend.

"Yeesh. That bad, huh?" I swallowed.

"Uh... yeah, you could say that.

* * *

*Robert, 1st person*

Running out of a cave is not a good thing to do, especially with a giganticscorpion on your tail. I could've sworn that that thing's armor wouldn't stand a chance against carbon-titanium alloy bullets; I was proven wrong half a magazine ago. Through the cave's entrance I ran, expecting the scorpion to stop at the considerably smaller archway, but again I was proven wrong as it burst through, flinging me through the archway as well.

Jaune was still hanging on to the scorpion's yellow stinger, crying out Pyrrha's name and admitting that the scorpion wasn't 'the relic'.

"Jaune," she tried to explain. "Whatever you do, don't let—." The scorpion threw Jaune halfway across the forest. "Go."

All attention was on the scorpion as it seemed Hell bent on snapping the two of us in half.

"I'll hold it off, you—," I tried to give her the order to run, but she was one step ahead of me. "Oh, Robert; what'd you get yourself into this time." The scorpion lunged. "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" I bolted out of the clearing, outrunning Pyrrha but still not fast enough to outrun a Mega-Panther—a ferocious Hellborn which is, like its name suggests, is an over-sized bundle of fuzz with two 42-inch teeth and an arsenal of 2-foot claws at the ready. I let out a scream of terror as I sprinted in a futile attempt to escape the creature.

* * *

*Colby, 1st person*

Ruby and Weiss are lucky; they got picked up by a Nevermore—a Grimm with wings and large but fluffy feathers—while I was snatched by a Phoenix, a large reptile with wings, methane-burning organs on said wings, sharp claws, and rather pointy teeth dripping with a lethal poison. I mean, jeez this thing was loud. I couldn't even hear myself think.

"Ruby," Weiss yelled. "I _told_ you this was a terrible idea!"

"We're fine," Ruby returned over the wind. "Stop worrying."

"I am _so_ far beyond worrying."

"In a good way?"

"In a _bad_ way! In a very bad way."

"Well, why don't we just jump."

"WHAT," I screamed. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"What are you," Weiss yelled as if to add to the emphasis. "Insane?" Ruby wasn't even there to hear what she had to say. "Oh, you insufferable red—."

"Save it for a time when she can actually hear you and not, you know, _defying death_," I told her before being thrown in a bout of turbulence and tossed off the back of the massive Phoenix. "OR AT MY FUNERAL!"

Again I fell from a disorienting height, but this time I was crashing through trees at the end of my journey. One branch would've crippled me right then and there had I not been wearing my heavy armor. As it was, I still hit the ground pretty hard.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky," I heard someone ask another. The response was better than nothing, but definitely inaudible; either that or they were just as confused.

"Did Colby just fall from three thousand feet," Joseph's voice asked.

"Two people fall at the same time," Shephard's voice answered. "Two more ask the same question. So cliche."

"Could we please not joke about me getting a literal pain in the neck," I groaned as I picked myself off the ground.

Just then, Arthur came rushing out of the dense forest, breathing heavy. Behind him was a panting Brandon, and behind both of them was an Ursa. The Ursa let out one final roar before getting killed by none other than Nora Valkyrie. Lie Ren was right behind her, panting heavy. Then, as if she'd teleported, she came over to the white rook, gave out a little 'oooh' sound, picked up the piece and started singing 'I'm queen of the castle'. Ren just got frustrated and called her out on it.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa," Blake asked. Again, Yang had almost no words to say.

"Thank you for taking the words right out of my mouth," Joseph complained.

"Again with the repetition cliche," Shephard commented. I just groaned.

"Thank you for being a pain in the neck, Shephard," I muttered with a waterfall of sarcasm.

Right as I just finished saying that, Robert and Pyrrha Nikos came running out of the forest, Pyrrha with a giant scorpion on her tail and Robert running from a Mega-Panther. Robert tried to escape the wrath of the massive beast, but it just backhanded him into one of the pillars of the forest temple.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail," Blake again asked the obvious.

"Did Colonel James just try to outrun a Mega-Panther," Joe demanded, driving me halfway insane.

"Is this cliche city here or something," Shephard pulled the last straw.

"I can't take it anymore," Yang yelled. "Could everyone just chill out for like two seconds before something crazy happens again?" Literally two seconds passed before something crazy happened again.

"Your prayers have been answered," Shephard spewed the obvious once again. "Wow, that was one Hell of a cliche party, and now this? Boy, am I going to have a story to tell when I get home. I growled in frustration.

"Shephard," I snapped. "Could you shut up about this whole 'cliche city' business before I tear your head off?"

"Meh. Okay, fine."

"Good."

"Uh, Yang," Ruby grabbed her sister's attention, to which Yang just lowered her head in defeat. Shephard face palmed.

"We're all going to die," he spoke.

"Too soon, brother," said William, who'd just then snuck up on me.

"Oh my God," I jumped, surprised to see Will again. "Oh my God. Dude!... don't ever do that again."

"Fine, fine, just chillax, bro. I got this."

I finally looked up to see the calamity. Yep, it was Weiss. We're not exactly doomed, but I'm probably going to get chewed out some time soon.

"I said jump," Ruby stated.

"She's going to fall," said Blake.

"She'll be fine," Ruby assured.

"She's falling," Ren bluntly spoke.

"Too soon, bro," said William.

"Will," I snapped. "Not the best of times to mess around."

"I see your point," Robert said, sneaking up behind me once again. He seemed to be in a bit of pain from his flight, but I think he'll live.

"OH MY FREAKING GOD," I screamed. "What the Hell, guys. Is this, like, national 'scare-the-holy-Hell-out-of-Colby' day or something? This is, like, the second time now. NOT COOL, Robert."

"Hey, quit flipping out," Robert calmly told me. "It's not like the whole world's going to end, you know."

"Meh," I grunted.

"Well, that's hilarious," Shephard muttered. Upon shooting him a glare, he pointed up at Weiss and Jaune, who were practically floating in midair. Weiss was the first to look down, and Jaune followed shortly after. Cartoon-ish, but still funny.

"Hey, Weiss," William shouted. "You're not supposed to look down! You'll stay in the air longer!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP," I screamed, making my throat sore once again. "Ugh. I swear I'm the only sane person here."

"Me, too," Ruby asserted. Pyrrha came skidding to our feet.

"Great," Yang input sarcastically. "The gang's all here; now we can die together."

"Not if I can help it," said the girl in the red hood before bolting off.

"Ruby, hold up," I shouted. She didn't hear me. She didn't even notice the massive lynx trying to eat the poor girl. Great; now instead of me getting double-teamed, it's her. "Or just go ahead and attack the four gigantic beasts that would like nothing more than to eat you for lunch. That'd be good too." I pulled out my shield. "Shephard, Will, provide some cover fire for me. Robert, don't stop me."

"What the Hell," I could hear Robert shout in confusion as I began to charge the massive bundle of fur, claws, and razor-sharp teeth pursuing my first friend on this planet.

"Stay away from my friend," I yelled as I bashed my shield into the side of the Mega-Panther's head. The big cat tumbled thanks to the sheer force of my hit, but it did little to nothing in terms of actual damage. Its sharp yellow eyes locked on to me. "That's it, eyes on me, eyes on me."

It pounced, but it did nothing to stop my deadly assault on it. I ran around it before it landed, exposing its backside. Gunfire distracted it; shotgun rounds and chain gun bullets. I jumped onto its neck and slammed my shield into the base of its shoulders. The creature shook, but my shield did nothing to penetrate its skin. I then swung Leonidas as if my entire arm were a club. The shield vibrated as it knocked the predator unconscious. The beast fell and threw me off; an explosion sent me flying a good twenty feet. I looked up to see the Phoenix diving in my direction and shooting fire at me, relentless in its fire. One more blast threw me off, but I swung Leonidas at the third one. The fireball flew back at the Phoenix's methane-burning flight organ, causing the entire creature to explode. Robert walked up to me after a couple of minutes had passed.

"Even I've got to admit," he told me. "That was pretty awesome. I think we should all take a break from all this—."

"I second that motion," Arthur supplied.

"Oh yeah," Max Strasbourg added. "I'm with you there."

"Who wants to sit up on a cliff and watch the girls do their thing," Emily asked for input. Nearly every SPARTAN and Sangheili voted for 'yes'; I was just too tired to vote, Shephard wanted to help the girls just in case more Hellborn came out, and Will just wanted to flirt with them all. I groaned.

"Do you ever want to do anything but flirt with girls," I demanded.

"Oh, you mean aside from playing Poker and beating criminals senseless," Will returned.

"If you want to flirt with girls, either wait or flirt with Sarah and Emma when they get back."

"Do what with us when we get back," Emma spoke at the right time. I pushed Will forward.

"He would like to... 'go shopping' with you," I covered, earning me a glare as they dragged him off and beat him senseless. I made a deal with them that a sarcastic 'go shopping' meant flirting; this paid off when I just doomed him to a beating.

* * *

After at least two more hours of delivering beatings and destruction and carnage to more Hellborn—it turns out we still needed to fight these things off, even after we'd decided to not beat anything else to a pulp, we were finally finished. Ruby and I both delivered finishing blows: she decapitated the circling Nevermore, and I delivered a seismic punch to a towering Lupus Maximus—a thirty-foot tall wolf-like creature that put Beowolves to shame, what with its glowing yellow eyes and all—ending the massive creature's reign permanently. Now we were all in the auditorium structure in Beacon, listening to the announcement of teams.

"Russel Thrush," Ozpin called up to the stage. "Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces; from this day forward you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester." Applause filled the makeshift auditorium.

Then came the next team.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces; from this day forward you will work together as Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc." Poor boy; first he gets confused, then he gets knocked over by a poorly placed playful punch from one of his own teammates.

"Ouch," William muttered. "Beaten by a girl. You just got burned, Jaune—."

"Will," I interrupted. "Can you please do us all a favor and not talk for, like, maybe an hour? Thank you."

"And finally," Ozpin finished. "Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces; from this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose."

"Well," William commented. "Now that that's done and over with, I'd love to go and flirt with all of 'em—."

"You may outrank 'em," Shephard spoke. "But I don't think you're on the same league as them."

"BUT," the brown-haired grievance continued. "I have some other business to deal with first." Will swung his elbow at my now-unarmored diaphragm. Seeing as how he was sitting on my right side, that was a bad idea from the start. He hit me in the rib cage and hollered out in pain; he's yet to learn that I've torn those muscles so many times that they're as hard as ten feet of concrete. I just sent him flying with a well-placed punch to the shoulder.

"Do you really want to keep going," I demanded. Will just groaned from his new position on the floor.

"Excuse me for the interruption," Sanderson spoke through the speakers. "But I have a bit of an announcement to make. All those of you attending Beacon, this does not apply to you; those of you attending the UNSC Foreign Training Grounds, this is for you, and I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. To kick things off with a bang, I'm going to put you all through what I'd like to call boot camp. Throughout this week, you will be training non-stop, testing your skills along the way. I will use these tests to place you in the appropriate teams. At the beginning of next week, you will be put through one final test; this is the one and only test in which you will be allowed to have teams and/or partners, so find someone you can work well with. For now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where you'll be getting your beauty sleep for the next week or so." He walked out, leading us to the UNSC Foreign Training Grounds.

Sanderson impresses me all the time, and this was no different; the training grounds looked like a set of ten different base camps, one massive general barracks, and a much larger building that looked to be the general HQ for the General. Either that or they were classrooms, or both. I swallowed my nervousness, not wanting to show that I was not at all ready for this. Sanderson led us to the general barracks, stopping once everyone was inside.

"Alright," he told us. "This is where you will be resting from now until this week is over. You will wake up at six forty-five sharp, head over to the general HQ, and receive your instructions and tests for the day. And that's _every single day_. As I said, I will not repeat myself, so be sure you've got this stuck in those thick skulls of yours. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone gave their respective cultural salute and shouted 'yes sir'. "Good; that's what I like to hear. Set your stuff down wherever you like, and—." He checked his wristwatch. "Get some shut-eye soon. You have a long day of boring classes and hard work-outs ahead of you. Dismissed."

"Well, this is going to be interesting," Robert generalized as he set his luggage down near the foot of the bed he decided to occupy. I set my things down at the foot of a bunk right next to his.

"Yep," I muttered. "It sure is. I just wonder how we're going to survive all this."

* * *

A/N: That was a long chapter. A headache to type up. Microsoft Word decided 'nope, I don't want to let you get on' because I wouldn't let Microsoft Office update. I don't even use Office, but it had to update anyways, and now Word won't even open. I'm doing all this using FanFiction's document editing system. I discovered that I can upload one word document more than once, as seen with my numerous copies of the first few chapters of this story. I'm going to imply that technique and type these chapters via FanFiction from now on.

So, how'd you guys like that chapter? Like it? Hate it? Tell me in a review. Have an OC or plot idea? Tell me via PM. And please use the same PM... thing or whatever. I had someone send me a PM, and they apparently don't quite grasp the concept of the PM system (no offense to anyone here). I did some experimenting with the PM system (or I just learned about it the easy way), and I've found that the PM system is kind of like text messaging.

If you have a question, ask away; don't be afraid, I don't bite (often). With all that out of the way, I guess I'll see you guys next chapter. Peace.


	8. Record 2: Boot Camp

Well, I told you it'd work, and it works. I've typed up the entirety of last chapter using FanFiction's editing system, and I'm going to do the exact same thing with this chapter. I'm going to go through the UNSC Foreign Training Grounds initiation, along with the first week of classes for Colby and the gang. This chapter is going to be mostly Colby-centric, as much as possible in his POV.

I almost forgot to mention that last chapter was UBER long. Nearly 10k words long. Yeesh, I'm having a headache just thinking about it.

With that out of the way, let's get on with things. I seriously hope you guys like this chapter.

I own none of the characters from RWBY or Halo (like Master Chief, who will be used, SPOILER ALERT). I do, however, own the other characters (like Joe Crowley, who I am currently writing an eBook series for). I do not own the plotline for the Halo games or for RWBY; only the events which do not occur in either storyline do I own, if I own any of those *hint hint*.

* * *

Halo: The Next Generation

Record II: Revolution and Redemption

Part 6: Boot Camp

* * *

*Colby, 1st person*

I woke up with a start. Everyone else was asleep, but would soon wake up. I checked my watch to see that it was 06:00, just thirty minutes before I was supposed to get up. I sat up in my bed, reminiscing over what woke me up. Ever so quietly, I grabbed Ares out of the suit of armor on the floor. He came on with a slight flicker, but not loudly enough to wake anyone up.

"Ares," I whispered. "Is there anything nearby that might wake me up?" The blue figure thought for a moment before answering.

"Nothing physical," he responded equally quiet. "Though judging by your high levels of adrenaline and fast heartbeat, you woke up at the end of a nightmare. I should assume your mind was just going over what happened yesterday. Maybe a dark curve or two, but it probably was just you processing memories." I sighed quietly.

"I hope you're right, Ares," I told him. "I seriously hope you're right. Can you show me what I was dreaming about?"

"Negative. Sorry, but I don't have a direct connection with your neural network."

"Nah, it's fine. I was just wondering." I sighed, not knowing about anything that I could do. Just then, something occurred to me. "Ares, can you see my physical anatomy?"

"Negative. Your psychological health is something I cannot monitor—."

"I said _physical_ anatomy, not psychological."

"Oh. In that case, yes I can. Why do you ask?"

"It may have something to do with all this."

"Alright. Scanning for injury... no internal injury. One or two scratches and bruises externally, but otherwise you're perfectly fine. Scanning for toxins and/or viruses... no physical illness present. Maybe you've just had a rough time yesterday."

"Good. Now what do I do?"

"I suppose you could take a shower and get dressed." I shot the tiny AI a glare.

"I'd rather save the shower for after today's sweat and blood have poured; otherwise the shower would be for nothing."

"I see your point." Silence. "But you could still at least get dressed."

"Good point. Thanks, Ares."

"Any time. Would you like me to shut off?"

"Go into power saving mode. You could still be needed."

"I see your concern, but the logic escapes me—."

"Classes."

"Oh, yeah. Alright; activating power-saving mode." The AI's hologram went dark.

"Alright then; what to wear..." I finally decided that a breathable t-shirt would suit best for today, along with my maroon hoodie, black cargo shorts, and regular sneakers. As soon as I had put on the clothes I was wearing for the day, I checked the time. 06:15 in the morning. Oh, joy.

I spent ten more minutes staring out the nearest window; my bed was right next to a window, so it wasn't too difficult for me to find one. The morning sun was already starting to rise, but the Barracks was still dark inside.

At 06:28, someone opened the door to the Barracks. I looked over to the door to see General Sanderson enter the building, wearing a white t-shirt, khaki-colored cargo jeans, brown military-standard combat boots, and a whistle around his neck. My mood somewhat brightened to see him standing there. Ever so quietly I got up, careful not to kick any of my comrades or their stuff. I came over to Sanderson, whose mood brightened to see me awake and ready this early in the morning.

"Colby James," he greeted me, holding out his hand for me to shake. "How are you this fine morning? More importantly, how are you awake right now? You should be getting some more beauty sleep."

"Meh, I woke myself up with a nightmare apparently," I told him as I shook his hand. "As for how I'm doing, I'm not doing to terribly bad myself. How about you, sir?"

"Well, it's a morning," he responded. "It couldn't be better, though; it's been so long since I've actually been on a planet."

"Yeah, it's been quite some time," I admitted.

"So how are you liking your time here?" I had to think about that one for a moment, but I had an answer.

"Well, uh... it's certainly been a ride, but I think I could get used to it."

"Not quite like on the Saratoga, huh?"

"It's certainly better than seeing carbon-steel everywhere all the time."

"Does this remind you of Andromeda?" I tried to remember what it was like on the luscious green planet I had called home for so long.

"Not really; the people here are pretty cool. Everyone back home wasn't half as nice as the people here can be." Silence between the two of us.

"It seemed as though you had a rough time yesterday," he observed. "Why'd you get so mad when Ruby and Weiss started arguing?"

"Well, you know how our war started; with a single argument turned bloody. These people are already fighting one war, just got finished fighting another, and are on the brink of a third; I don't think they need another. That's why I got so mad so quickly; I don't want them to fight over who was in the right or wrong."

"So you don't want them to end up like us," he assumed. I nodded.

"That's right."

"Why not?" I thought about it as hard as I could, but I couldn't really find a good enough way to answer what I wanted to say.

"I don't know how to phrase it," I admitted. "I guess I just... feel like they've got so much more to strive towards." He nodded.

"So I take it you fight for freedom?" I nodded. He checked his watch. "Oh-six-thirty, on the dot. Cover your ears; this thing can get pretty loud." I complied reluctantly, only to realize that he wasn't kidding—his whistle is so loud that I can barely hear myself think over it. I flinched when he blew into it. Everyone in the building jumped awake, some of them screaming, others hitting their heads on the bar above them, some even rolling off the bed. I felt sorry for William, who slept on the top bunk; he rolled off the bed, only for his torso to land on his armor. Poor boy was crippled nearly instantly; he had to wake up first, but as soon as he was awake and saw the armor he curled up in a ball, holding his abdomen.

"Told you so," Sanderson joked with me. I just looked up at him with a semi-fury. "Come on, soldiers! A Sergeant two years younger than you is up before you; move your lazy butts!" I raised my eyebrow as I stood back up.

"Really," I demanded. "You're going to use me as an example? Wow, I feel so special."

"Don't worry, James; I do that to everybody." I just sighed, walking over to my bag of stuff and taking out my AI's charging station. I plugged Ares in and locked the station onto my SPARTAN armor, which I slung onto my shoulders.

"Everyone, listen up," I heard the General call out. "Meet up in the Commons between the ten Base Camps. I'll give you your instructions there. Be there by 07:30, no later."

* * *

*In the Commons, 07:29*

"Come on, Will," Shephard urged his brother. "Get over here. Like, now. He's starting in less than a minute."

"Alright, I'm coming," William chugged along. "I got my rear kicked yesterday; I'm kind of sore, here."

"And every second of it was well needed," Arthur commented. "Now hurry it up and get over here. You've got fifteen seconds."

"How can I be a year younger than you and yet still outrace you here," I questioned.

"Dude, you can run at, like, supersonic speed," Will clarified as he arrived. "No one else here can do that."

Sanderson cleared his throat, intending to start the day.

"Alright," he began. "Today's your first day here, but that doesn't mean that you're off scotch free; you have some classes at 09:00 at Beacon, followed by a short warm up and a work out. Then, after a quick lunch break, you will be tested on your strength and endurance. Then you will have more classes at Beacon, then a short class on cultures in HQ. You will get a quick dinner break, go on a quick run or jog, and a good thirty minutes to yourselves before lights out. Take a shower if you need it, and lights out at 22:30. Is that understood?" Everyone snapped a salute and shouted 'yes sir'. "Good. Now grab yourselves a bite to eat, and good luck. Dismissed."

"Oh, joy," I heard Robert say with falsetto enthusiasm. "I can't wait to die in class."

"Aww, come on," I joked, grabbing a cup of coffee. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Actually, it can," Ares spoke from in my armor. "They get too bored, all Hell breaks loose, someone's bound to die."

"Not helping, Ares," Robert spoke, causing the AI to chuckle. I took a sip from my coffee.

"I wonder what class we have first," I thought aloud. Robert shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

* * *

*In Professor Port's classroom, 09:00*

Well, sure enough, we found out. The hard way. We had to pull a wild goose chase just to find this first class.

"Monsters," Port spoke in a loud voice. "Demons. Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey."

"So enthusiastic, this professor," Ares muttered.

"And boring," Sherman added.

"And yet, he can be quite informative," Sherlock argued.

"Will you three zip it," Saevio snapped quietly before turning back to the professor's lecture.

"Uh... and you will, too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy."

"Or not," Shephard joked, causing at least half of the actual soldiers in the room to burst out laughing. I just growled in frustration.

"Shephard," I snapped. "He's at least trying to teach us something; at the very least show some respect." I turned back to the professor. "I must apologize for my friend here; he can be a little offensive at times. Please, do continue with your lecture."

"Hmm, I see," Port trailed off before he continued with his lecture. "Now, as I was saying, Vale—as well as the other three kingdoms—are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world; our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces." One of the nearby ODSTs swallowed loudly, probably not interested in getting shredded like cheese before he reached his twenties. "And that's where we come in. Huntsmen; Huntresses—." He winked at Yang, giving the girl some grief. I groaned.

"Um, Professor," William yelled out. "I don't think that was necessary. I think you should leave flirting with young girls to me—." I bashed his face in with my fist once again. I would've used Leonidas, but it got melted thanks to the fiery breath of the Lupus Maximus last night.

"Seriously, Will," Shephard commented. "You've got to control that mouth of yours." Port cleared his throat, grabbing our attention.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves," The pot-bellied professor continued his lecture. "From what, you ask. Why, the very world." A student pumped his fist into the air as I just beat my head on the desk in embarrassment.

"Umm... I think I'll just stick with our own civil war, thank you very much," I heard Andrew Hendrickson state. I could also hear Robert groan in frustration as he pulled out his pistol and leveled it with Andrew's head, making the Lieutenant General flinch in fear. "No, no, violence will not be necessary, Colonel."

"WILL YOU SHUT UP," I shouted, causing almost everyone to wake up. "Thank you. Please, professor; do continue."

"As I was saying," the professor picked up his lecture for the third time today. "That is what you are training to become. But first, a story; a tale of a young, handsome man: me. When I was a boy—." I was starting to lose focus at this point, noticing the bright lights in the room, the sounds echoing from the walls, the other conversations, even the things on the white boards up front. I tried memorizing all the creatures and their respective names: giant snake, Death Stalker, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, Nevermore, something else... for some odd reason, I could see the actual creatures in my mind, along with their Hellborn equivalents. Titanocobra, Scorpionem Imperator, Minotaurus, Gremlin and Titan, Phoenix, Lupus Magnum/Maximum/Rexus, and Raptors.

"The moral of this story," Professor Port brought me back to reality. "A true Huntsman must be honorable; a true Huntsman must be dependable. A _true_ Huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise. So, who here believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Every soldier in the room—except for me—rose their hand. I just groaned and pulled out my new assault rifle, to which they flinched and dove behind their desks.

"That's what I thought," I spoke, putting the weapon back where it belonged. Port just looked at me with admiration.

"So, mister James," Port asked me. "Do you think you are the soldier they say you are?"

"Nah," I responded. "I'm not one to brag, unlike _most people I know_, bunch of hopeless hypocrites."

"Alright, since you are so modest," Port moved on. "Does anyone else believe themselves to be the embodiment of such traits as mister Colby James here—." Not even a second before he finished did Weiss raise her hand.

"I do, sir," she bravely spoke.

"Well then," Port told the white-haired girl. "Let's find out." He showed a cage containing a Boarbatusk (at least according to Ares). "Step forward and face your opponent."

Weiss complied, holding her sword as though she were about to enter a more proper sword fight. The caged beast did not sound happy to be caged up the way it was. Some words passed between her and the rest of her team as she stood on the battlefield. I held a lower-class sniper rifle just in case things went awry.

"Alright," the professor spoke, holding a strange combination between a battleaxe and a musket. "Let the match begin!" He let the blade fall on the lock to the cage. The Boarbatusk came racing out like a bat out of Hell, just a little more ferocious. Weiss dodged the beast, taking a swing at it in the process. I kept the sights on the beast the whole time.

"Haha," Port spoke as if excited by the limited action. "Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

"Not the time to shoot," Shephard informed. I glared at him through the corner of my eye.

"Hang in there, Weiss," I could hear Ruby calling out to her teammate on the battlefield. I just rolled my eyes and focused on where my sights were aimed. I couldn't find the Grimm anywhere until I heard another metallic clang. I rotated my body to see Weiss's sword caught on the creature's tusk. My finger was now on the trigger, ready to fire. Ruby distracted Weiss once more, allowing the over-sized piece of bacon the opportunity to disarm Weiss and knock her backwards. I flicked the safety off and prepared to pull the trigger.

"Hoho," the excited professor chided. "Now what will you do without your weapon?"

"Wait for it," Shephard ordered. I lowered the sniper rifle and gave the First Lieutenant an unimpressed look.

"Really, Jackson," I demanded. "Are you just going to sit there and provide a useless commentary? You're screwing with my focus here." I raised the sniper rifle to see that the pig was charging again. Weiss jumped out of the way just before it impaled her. The creature hit the wall and nearly rolled over. I couldn't see the creature, but it was really going somewhere. Just as I saw Weiss retrieve her weapon, the pig started spinning in a vertical tire roll maneuver. I kept my aim on the beast as it propelled itself towards Weiss, still spinning. I waited until it hit Weiss's sword to fire at it's back. Perfect shot, but the rifle's recoil sent me backwards by a fraction of an inch. Not enough to completely miss the target, but just enough to prove less than fatal. The pig actually flipped over, providing Weiss the opportunity to jump up, use one of her fancy glyphs, and cut through the pig's belly. Instantly fatal. I lowered the rifle and shot Shephard a deeper glare than before. I slung the rifle around my shoulder and marched out of the area.

* * *

We finally caught back up later in the day, after classes. The objective of these 'work outs' was to get ready for the tests. The test for today was physical strength. Shephard was watching for William, and vice versa. Robert was watching for me as I benched ten five-hundreds, looking at me with a totally unimpressed look. I had lifted the bar nearly a hundred times now and wasn't even breaking a sweat; Hell, my muscles weren't even burning yet. I put the bar back and stood back up. Robert watched as I changed the five-hundreds for ten thousand-pounders. I sat back down and started again. 'Oh, yep," my brain decided. 'There's the burn.'

"What's with you today," Robert asked after I lifted the bar fifteen times. I still wasn't breaking a sweat, but I put the bar back and sat up.

"What's that supposed to mean," I demanded, giving him the classic 'don't mess with me' look.

"I mean, why are you so upset all of a sudden?" I laid back down and started lifting the bar once again. I looked over to Shephard, who was barely lifting eight five-hundreds and sweating profusely.

"Meh," I muttered, lifting the bar once per second ceaselessly. Robert still looked at me with worry in his eye.

"You're lifting ten thousand pounds per second, looking over at Shephard every so often. Who wouldn't be worried?" I stood back up and removed the weights.

"I don't know, me." I put ten fifteen-hundred-pound weights on the bar, sat back down, and began lifting once more. "Oh, yeah. That's more my size."

"Okay, now you're lifting fifteen thousand pounds once per second, and you're not even breaking a sweat. What's going on?"

"What? I lost Leonidas to an over-sized Chihuahua and now Shephard's trying to tell me how, where, and when to fire a sniper rifle that I can easily handle. Who wouldn't be mad?"

"Oh, I don't know... me." He put his hand on the bar. "Seriously, though; I think you should slow down. You're lifting fifteen thousand pounds. You move up any further and you'll be lifting Ursas. Slow. It. Down. Okay?" I sighed, slowing down my lifting speed. "Better."

"Why do you even care, Robert? Shephard's been a headache ever since we touched down." Robert then sighed.

"Because you're my brother. I don't care about the 'normal' brother; you even look like you're in a bad mood, I'll be there for you." I stopped lifting with the bar still in the air and looked at him.

"Cool," I muttered, letting the bar fall again and pushing it back up. I continued lifting. "You got any suggestions as to what I should do about Shephard and William?" Robert sighed again.

"I'll do my best," he promised. "But I can't promise you anything. Those two could cause more trouble in a single day than an entire army of Hellborn could in a month."

"Just take care of it," I grumbled, standing up and changing out the weights once more. "You dare me to try twenty-five thousand?"

"No," he said bluntly. "Dude, not even the Jiralhanae can lift that much; you'll break your arm trying that."

"Well, let's test that hypothesis," I muttered, putting on ten five-thousand-pound weights. "I'd rather over lift than take baby steps." Sure enough, I could do it. I did fifty before stopping, sweating an ocean and a half and trembling like a dog. "Or I can kill myself; that'd be good, too."

"You know, going over your limit is bad for you," Robert spoke wisdom.

"Yes, but it's also good for you," said Sanderson, who'd just then snuck up behind us. "It proves to yourself that you can, indeed, outmatch your limits, your physical boundaries. It actually helps with your muscle development, too; that's how I managed to go from lifting two hundreds to benching a whopping 25000 pounds by the time my career as a SPARTAN-I was over." He turned to me. "Fifty thousand pounds. Is that your maximum?"

"I don't know, really," I admitted once again. "I just need a break—."

"So that's your limit," he inferred. I shook my head.

"That's not what I said, sir." He raised an eyebrow. Robert gave me a funny look from my left.

"Well, if you stop lifting, that's your limit, whether that's your maximum or not."

"In that case, that's not my limit; that was just stamina speaking." I took off all the weights on the barbell and replaced them all with two twenty-five-ton weights. A little over a hundred thousand pounds all total. I then grabbed the bar and pushed up. My arms strained under the sheer weight, but the bar began moving. I must've hefted that thing twenty-five times before I finally stopped. All of that in under a minute and a half. I was panting and sweating extremely heavily, but I'd done it. I had tried to pass my limitations and done so by a long shot. I looked over to see Robert, Sanderson, practically everybody present—including some of the Beacon students invited to watch such as Ruby and her team—staring at my nearly impossible feat.

"That was fifty tons," Sanderson muttered. "Ladies and gentlemen, Sergeant Colby James here has just lifted four times his limit without fear of the consequences." He scratched something down on his pad of paper—which I didn't even notice he was carrying.

"Meh, it was nothing," I pushed it aside.

"Nothing," Robert repeated. "Nothing? You think that was nothing? Colby, half the people here can't even dream of lifting that much, much less actually do it. No one here can do that."

"Even I couldn't do that," a Mgalekgolo muttered in awe.

"That's a four hundred percent more than your record," Joseph measured mentally.

"Nah, it's not," I muttered. "Really, it's not; it's an excuse for me to sleep in tomorrow." The entire place burst into laughter.

"Come on, you," William laughed. "Let's go get something to celebrate. That was freaking cool."

Just then I noticed that Ruby was standing there in awe, wide eyes and all. I just chuckled.

"Hey, Ruby," I called out to her. "Like what you saw?" She noticed that everyone was now staring at the both of us and stopped staring, blushing madly. I noticed that everyone was staring at us and began to glare at them. "Would you all quit staring?!"

I was the only one who noticed it: a large, black mass of fur, sharp fangs and claws, and one red eye. It came in pouncing, knocking over Covenant and Guardian alike. Its one good eye seemed to be trained on one entity only: Ruby. It would've gotten to her, but Yang and Shephard stepped in and slowed it down. The beast still batted them aside, but that gave me one precious second to step in the way.

It was a miracle gone bad, really. I had just finished pulling off an impossible feat, Ruby was standing there like a helpless fangirl, and just when it seems like nothing is going to go wrong, a beast comes out of nowhere wanting nothing more than to chow down on Ruby's dead body. I step in the way, despite my weak arms and weary stance. A weak young man between a massive bobcat and a pretty face. I should've died, and Ruby should've too. Luck had its way, though; my willpower was still strong, and I threw one final punch, pouring every last ounce of remaining strength into that arm. The punch was strong enough to not only send the Mega-Panther flying, but to send it flying in pieces. I shouldn't have been able to do that, but I did.

My entire body was crackling with energy as I rose, arcs of electricity flowing from my body and into the air. My eyes were glowing like flashlights. I could feel the energy flowing through me. I wasn't even breathing heavy. All the perks ended when I let the energy come back to my core. I collapsed from a lack of energy. Everyone crowded around me, wondering if I was okay.

"Ugh... I really need a vacation," I muttered. Everyone around me burst into laughter at the truthful and understandable phrase that just escaped my lips.

* * *

*At the end of the week, after the paintball battle*

I was absolutely sore by the time it was all said and done, but I was ready for the announcement of squadrons after the paintball battle. We were currently in the auditorium at Beacon. Every last bit of energy lost was worth it. Now, I was excited, impatient to hear which squadron I was going to be put on. I was infinitely nervous, though; Sanderson was already about to say who all was on the last team, and I didn't know if he would eliminate anyone.

"Shephard Jackson: weapons expert," Sanderson called out, telling the position on the team Shephard had as he walked up to the stage. "William Jackson: heavy artillery and weaponry expert. Joseph Crowley: investigator and head technician. Emily Johnson: pilot. Arthur Phylarchus: allied leader. Max Strasbourg: explosives technician. Toby McSumners: sniper. Emma and Sarah Washington: recon. Thomas Peters: Scorpion driver and operator." Now it was down to Robert and I: who would stay or who would be what. "Robert James." Yep, I'm going to be left out. "Communications operator." What?! "That leaves us one last soldier and one last spot to fill. Colby James: you have been elected as head commander of this team."

"OH MY GOD, COLBY," Robert yelled with pride. "YOU'VE DONE IT! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" The entirety of my team, dubbed as the American team, or the Guardians of Freedom, all dog-piled me. I was hefted onto their shoulders as the crowd cheered at my performances in boot camp and on the battlefield.

"Great job, young man. You have shown true excellence in all areas, both when on the battlefield and when in training." Sanderson then spoke into the microphone again. "I congratulate you all on your endeavors, and will see you in a few short days when you've finished renovating your new bases. Dismissed." My team carried me into the base camp that was to be our new home for the next few years of my life, proud that I had received the higher honor than they did. Either that or they hailed me as a proud and selfish hero, which I clearly wasn't. In fact, I wanted to be the underdog, the outcast, the one person who didn't make the cut. I didn't want to be carried into the sunset: I wanted to be the one to carry those who had nothing, less than I did, into the sunset, give them the opportunity to see the beauty that I had seen. I didn't want to be the leader: I just wanted to be me.

* * *

A/N: Man, that was hard to write. My computer blocked me off the internet for a while (aka over an hour), so I had to reset it. No files were lost, thank God. Dad did something to my computer that I don't clearly remember, but now it's good as new. No problems with it. Yippee!

So how'd you all like that somewhat short chapter? It's definitely short compared to last chapter, what with the _whopping 9k_\+ words and all.

Alright, you all know the drill. I'm too tired to go over it with you all; I keep posting these at, like, three in the morning, and it's really draining me. Hope you all enjoyed, wish me and my computer luck, and I'll see you all next time. Peeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Oh, sorry. I, uh... the key got... got, uh... got stuck. I thiiiink. I'll just go to sleep now. Peace...


	9. Record 2: Calm Before the Storm

It seems as though either I'm posting too fast or your guys just aren't interested in this story, because I haven't yet gotten a single review for the last two chapters. At least, none that I'm aware of.

Sorry if last chapter was confusing. I just wanted to get it out quickly, and decided that you guys would get bored after the first day in the initiation process, so I cut out every other part. And I just couldn't think of any interesting plot ideas. Meh, who cares?

Warning: I had no idea whether it was 'Vital Festival' or 'Vytal Festival' in the original RWBY universe, so I just went with what I thought was right. Hopefully I didn't get this one wrong... Let's just get on with the story.

None of the characters (aside from the current OCs) are my own; the SPARTAN idea belongs to Halo, and the idea of Aura belongs to the deceased Monty Oum (I still can't get over that).

* * *

Halo: The Next Generation

Record II: Revolution and Redemption

Part 7: Calm Before the Storm

* * *

*Colby, 1st person*

The next few weeks passed without incident. Aside from the occasional staring contest, arm wrestling contest, and chess game, things were pretty dull. I tried building a supercomputer in the first couple of days, but Joe was insistent that he and Robert do it instead. This proceeded to be a headache for me, not because of the paperwork involved but because of the boredom and stress involved in not doing anything but paperwork around here. These guys apparently though that my being leader meant that they had to do everything around here. I eventually told them that I _could_ and probably _should_ do work around here, and things pretty much cooled off a little bit after that.

My second week as leader was hectic; Sanderson advised us to build automated defenses suited for paintball, so Will and Shephard asked me for blueprints. I, in turn, asked Joe to come up with something. He came up with a few ideas, but we couldn't get any of them to work. We tried setting some basic automated defenses—such as paintball turrets and mines—but we ended up breaking more than we could fix. Automated snipers didn't work, either; they just ended up shooting everything from us to the neighbor's dog (metaphorically speaking, but it turns out that the ODSTs next door to us actually had a small dog that got shot by the stupid turret). I eventually had to come over and ask one of the mechanics next door to take the thing down. It was a heck of a pain in the neck, but we eventually got it taken care of. The neighboring ODSTs helped us set up some defenses in return for us constructing and programming a communications system for them, which I agreed to do—it was actually Robert who was unwilling, but I eventually got it through his head that we at least needed to know that these guys weren't dangerous. He reluctantly agreed to build the structure, building it with a failsafe just in case things went awry in their base. I don't know why, but he did. He came back with a glint in his eye; when I asked about it, he told me that these ODSTs weren't that bad after all. I just turned away with a smile on my face, finishing up the annoying paperwork that had to be done for all the damage we caused by experimenting.

The third week was somewhat more calm, with Sanderson requesting that we get some more powerful paintball weapons. That was easy enough; I went over, filled out some paperwork, and got us some more paintball ammunition. What was really annoying about that week was the explosions. Yes, there were explosions; some of the Kig Yar 'accidentally' set off a small pile of paintball grenades and 'borrowed' some of the ammunition I'd just gotten for the team. They didn't feel any remorse, but I just forgave them anyways. I gave them the rest of the ammunition they were trying to steal, then got us some more. Then there was the clean-up process, which took the rest of the week; again, I was the only one doing the paperwork, but I wasn't complaining.

Week four was easy for me, with Sanderson allowing us to make alliances with Beacon students and other squads alike. While I didn't get the point of this, I decided it was futile to fight with him. I made an alliance with Team RWBY (thank God no paperwork was involved) and the Sangheili—minus Arthur, who was assigned to be diplomat between us and the Sangheili. When I filled out the paperwork, Brandon and I had to do some compromising: he wanted us to maintain radio contact, which I was willing to do. He also was willing to allow access into his base provided that we allowed access into ours; I was willing to go for limited access into my own base just in case they turned coat or one of their operatives was sharing information with the other teams. He saw the reason in this, but maintained his position on the matter—this time, he respected my decision and offered to just keep the radio contact. We both agreed to this, and the paperwork was filled out. Nothing too big in the matter. I also accepted an 'alliance' with the neighboring ODST base, Bravo Outpost; this one was easy on both sides, as we just didn't want to shoot at each other. I offered to keep this alliance up for edits later on, and their leader—Jack Williams—agreed.

Five weeks in, and our squadrons are assigned particular tasks. Bravo Outpost was assigned to the construction of a new base camp somewhere near the Commons. The Sangheili were assigned to patrolling the main pathways and hallways of Beacon. My squadron was assigned to keep an eye on the fights going on in the auditorium structure we first came to at Beacon. Oh, joy; this was so not going to be fun. At the moment, it was Jaune Arc against Cardin Winchester. I held a medium-class sniper rifle (aka a rifle with a little more kick but _way_ more accuracy), keeping it trained on Cardin simply because I didn't trust the guy; Toby McSumners had his rifle on Jaune because I'd taken Cardin, even though he didn't like aiming at the underdog.

So far, it had been a pretty unfair match, but Jaune was holding his own miraculously. I don't know how he was even managing it. Cardin was beating the poor boy senseless. I had given him a communications link for the duration of the sparring match. He was currently huffing his head off, losing stamina and fast.

"Don't burn yourself out, Jaune," I warned via my own headset. "Don't come after him; make him come to you." Jaune let out a somewhat fierce battle cry, charging at Cardin and the sharp, ax-like mace. My tone went from serious to sarcastic in less than a second. "Or you can just kill yourself. Don't worry. I've got you covered. Not." I kept the rifle trained on Cardin.

"That's it," Shephard applauded me. "Keep your sights on the target—."

"WILL YOU STOP THAT," I yelled at the brown-haired nuisance. "Let me focus here; I got this. No thanks to you." I turned back to Cardin, only to find that Jaune was on the ground, crippled. "Heads up. HEADS UP! Lock and load; train on Target Bravo." Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, a dozen red points of light focused on Cardin's chest. The lights went back on.

"Cardin, that's enough," Goodwitch scolded the brown-haired warrior. She paced to the front of the stage. "Students, as you can see, Mister Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red; in a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." The dozen red beams switched off one by one, mine being dead last. I gave Cardin the traditional signal for 'I'm watching you' before lowering my rifle. Goodwitch then turned to Jaune.

"Mister Arc, it's been weeks now; please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more.. defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?" Cardin just hefted his mace up.

"Speak for yourself," he muttered as he left the stage. I just shot one more glare at the brute before leaping down from the balcony.

"Remember everyone," Goodwitch reminded. "The Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing." It seemed as though some of the students up front—not mentioning any people, like Ruby, Yang, and, surprisingly, Weiss—started acting like fangirls"Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale." The bell rang, freeing me of this insanity.

* * *

*The Beacon cafeteria, around lunch time*

I was sitting in the Beacon cafeteria surrounded by the rest of my team, reminiscing over what Sanderson told us yesterday evening: we should set claims on territory around our bases. I hadn't thought of any borders around our base, but I was fine with setting some borders up. I decided a smaller area at first, then expanded it upon thinking about visitors and expansion. It was official this morning, and the last squadron proclaimed its 'borders' before lunch.

I, Shephard, Arthur, Joseph, and Robert were all gathered around a small section of table at the moment; everyone else was crowding around the neighboring table—the table with teams RWBY and JNPR—listening intently to Nora's strange story. I was busy trying to map out all the borders of the ten base camps.

"Alright, Shephard told me about him wanting to build a weapons storage somewhere around our base," I informed the group, being corrected by Shephard.

"In that huge space in Tranquility Base HQ designated for extra structures," he pointed to a large square on his base map, a small are marked off and labeled for the construction of such a structure. "We have plenty of space for it there."

"Cool," I muttered. "He also told me about him wanting to set up some extra turrets around the base, having gotten some unmanned auto-fire turrets yesterday. He sent in the order after signing some of the papers I was unjustly given, so these turrets should come in tomorrow. Joseph; you and Shephard will set those turrets up and hook them into the radar system. Robert; I want you to put the map of the borders into the computer so then it knows who from where is who. Arthur; talk with the rest of the Sangheili and tell them about our plans. I'll chat with Bravo Outpost about our little game plan. Meet me in the conference room at 21:00 sharp, where we'll break down what we've accomplished. Sound like a plan?"

"Where's the conference room again," Joseph asked me. I thought for it a bit. We didn't really set up a conference room just yet.

"Um... let's go with my office for now. We'll see where that carries us." He nodded. "Now does that sound like a plan?" The other four nodded their consent. "Good." I turned around to see Jaune in a bad mood.

"Jaune," Pyrrha asked the blond boy. "Are you okay?" It took him a while, but he finally realized that someone was speaking to him.

"Oh, yeah," he confirmed, not really sounding fine to me. "Why?"

"It's just that you seem a little... not okay," Ruby responded.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to agree," I agreed. "You have been seeming a little down." Silence passed.

"Guys, I'm fine," he promised. "Seriously. Look." He demonstrated his faked happiness, not seeming happy at all. He then heard something happening over by Robert and the rest of my 'elected council'; Cardin and his team were picking on a young Faunus girl with brown rabbit ears. I continuously grew tired of Cardin's jokes, but this was just racist.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school," Pyrrha clarified.

"Who, Cardin Winchester," Jaune denied the truth once again. "Nah, he just likes to mess around, you know; practical jokes."

"He's a bully," Ruby informed.

"He's being a racist," I added, still glaring at Cardin.

"He's getting annoying," Shephard clarified.

"Oh, please," once more Jaune denied the facts. "Name one time he's 'bullied' me."

"He knocked your textbooks clean out of your hand," Robert testified.

"He blocked you with your own shield as he left to the restroom," Emily added.

"He stuffed you into a rocket-propelled locker and sent you flying," Shephard finalized.

"I didn't land far from the school," Jaune declared. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.

"Jaune," Pyrrha told the blond. "You know if you need help you can just ask."

"Ooh," Nora spoke up. "We'll break his legs!" Robert inched away from the hammer-wielding speaker.

"O-kay, that's just a little creepy," Shephard noted.

"Guys, really," Jaune stood up with his lunch. "It's _fine_. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."

"Ain't that the truth," Arthur growled, starting to morph into a legitimate Sangheili as he spoke. Robert started backing away from the scene, probably afraid of Nora _and_ his friend.

Just then, Cardin started pulling on the ear of the Faunus girl he was messing with before.

"Racist," the Sangheili-human spoke as he finished his transformation into the four-jawed creature. He looked hilarious in his fancy human clothes as a Sangheili, but his tone said he wanted to kill Cardin. "Come on, Robert; let's go. I've had enough of that man for one year." The two friends left the scene as the Faunus pleaded for mercy. The brown-haired bully released the poor girl, letting her leave the area.

"Atrocious," Pyrrha commented, her tone clearly not happy. "I can't stand people like him."

"He's not the only one," Blake spoke up, probably wanting to tear the hypocrite to shreds just as much as the Arbiter did.

"It must be hard to be a Faunus," Yang fessed up, resting her head on her palm.

"Yeah," Shephard agreed, crossing his arms. "Probably is. Especially with the threats from our war looming over the horizon."

"Have there been any laws restricting that," I asked. Blake shook her head.

"Even if there were, things wouldn't change," she responded.

"The White Fang screwed up their reputation when they went all haywire with violence," Shephard explained from what he'd read from legitimate sources. "Now every Faunus not in the organization is either discriminated against, in federal prison, or in hiding." Blake gave him a look of confusion, her eyes showing slight terror.

"How do you know all that," she demanded. He just looked away, clearly not comfortable being the subject here.

"Everyone harbors their own secrets," he told us. "Even the most extroverted of peoples keep darker secrets." His tone implied that he was speaking from experience. I wondered if he was trying to tell us something. Then again, Shephard was the very definition of introverted; the guy kept so many secrets it wasn't even funny.

* * *

*Colby's office, Tranquility Base, Foreign Training Grounds, 20:58*

"...And we also need a power generator of some kind," said Harvey Wilson, the appointed leader of the incoming squadron from Mistral. "Could you and your squadron somehow arrange for us?" I sighed, resting my elbow on my desk as I rested my head on the palm of my hand.

"I don't think I have that kind of authority," I mentioned to the new leader. "You should ask General Sanderson for that sort of stuff." He stared at me as if I had gone crazy.

"Eh... do what?" I shrugged once. "You... you mean you can't help us at all?" I shook my head from its resting position on my hand.

"Nope. You want to have that sort of stuff... what all did you want again—?"

"Two Warthogs suited for paintball, a Pelican done the same way, forty paintball assault rifles, and a power generator of some kind."

"Now, that we can't do at this moment," I informed Harvey. "At least, not all of it. We have around five spare assault rifles, along with a spare supercomputer monitor and two left over comm towers from constructing our own comm system and supercomputer. I think we also have some spare bags of concrete, given that Kig Yar don't steal any of it. If you need any of that, then we can provide it." He thought for a moment.

"You have a supercomputer and comm tower," he asked like and excited puppy. I chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, we do. The Jiralhanae do too, along with the Neo-Forerunners; they'll build one for you, so long as you have an extended wallet—."

"Where do they reside," he cut me off like lightning. I perked up, confused as to why.

"What," I stuttered. "Wha-why, dude? We can build you one too, probably better than they could; why go for the more expensive option?" He glared at me.

"You are smaller in numbers," he rationalized. "They have a superpower alliance, twenty soldiers per squadron. You have a smaller base of operations; they have one of the biggest connected bases in this encampment. They out-gun you nearly four to one. Which one would we prefer? The bigger armies." I sputtered like an old car. I couldn't believe it; this guy was standing me up for a superpower that clearly doesn't stand a chance against us. Who does he think I am, stupid? I finally just glared at my desk, pointing at the door seconds later.

"Get out," I ordered. "If you want to rant on about how small we are and how we would be wiped off the map, then I don't want to hear it. Now get out of my office before I kick you out myself." He stood stock still; my standing up and reaching for my combat knife made him move towards the door. "I mean it: get out of my office. I have other business to attend to." He complied, closing the door behind him. I growled, tearing the alliance paper to pieces. This guy has been a jerk to me and my squadron too long, and I had had enough. I wanted him out, and I never wanted to see him in my office again. A minute later, I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in," I answered from my desk, and in entered Shephard, Arthur, Joseph, and Robert, as they'd promised. "You do realize that I meant we'd meet _tomorrow_ at 18:00, right?" They turned back around, but I stopped them before they could enter, and let them take a seat around my desk.

"So how'd the meeting go," Robert asked. I shook my head, taking a sip from the water bottle on my desk.

"Not well," I spoke after refreshing my throat. "He wanted expensive, not working. He decided he wanted to join up with the enemy, probably because he didn't want to deal with small numbers." I turned to Joseph. "Have anything on the guy?"

"His father is the owner of a massive corporation filled to the brim with conspiracies," he spewed. "Among these industries include weapons design, military automotive construction and remodeling, and bio-enhancements via drugs and normally dangerous medications. They are also the richest corporation outside of Schnee Dust Companies here on Remnant, fifth on the scale for Guardian industries galaxy-wide, and thirteenth on the inter-species scale."

"They sound a lot like Gamma-42 and Elysium," Shephard thought aloud, causing everyone present to agree.

"But why would they want to ally themselves with the Covenant," Arthur muttered. "It doesn't make any sense."

"It will soon enough," Robert promised. "But right now we can't focus on that. We have bigger issues at hand here."

"You mean aside from the Covenant and this forty-strong squadron," Shephard demanded.

"That's exactly it," I cut in. Four heads turned to me. "We can't worry about them right now. We may have bigger issues at hand, but we shouldn't kill ourselves over it. We should worry about our own. Like Jaune. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"No clue," Joseph admitted. "She moves too fast for me to keep up—."

"You mean _he_," I corrected. He then remembered something.

"Oh, yeah," he trailed off in thought. "He was dragged off by Pyrrha when I got out of Oobleck's. I tried keeping an eye on Cardin after class, but I couldn't decide whether to delay the meeting for him or not—."

"Next time, just do it," I allowed him. "Besides, we've got to find Jaune—."

"It can wait," Arthur cut me off. "We need our rest for in a few days. Professor Peach is sending us on an expedition for red sap in Forever Fall. We can go about these things later, but we need to get more rest."

"He's right," Robert backed the young Arbiter. "We don't get rest, we'll be like lumps on logs by the field trip, everyone's dead if the Hellborn come along."

"Meh, good point," Shephard's will collapsed in favor of sleep.

"I really need shut-eye right now," Joseph admitted openly. I just sat back down in my chair and allowed my legs to spread as far as they pleased. I rested my elbows on my knees, letting my hands fall between them. "You need rest too, Colby; you can't go on without sleep forever."

"I know, I just need some time to think here," I confirmed. "I'll be in bed soon. Go on ahead, I'll be with you shortly; I've got some things to catch up on."

"Alright, but don't be long," he warned as he walked out the door. I nodded to him, and he left the area. I huffed and let my head relax, staring at the floor for God knows how long. I then got up from my position, leaving my office. This had become my ritual for some time; rest for a little bit, then get up and head on to bed. The action actually helped me sleep better. Hopefully, the next few days would be better than they had been lately.

* * *

*Not a minute later*

It turns out I was so tired I couldn't even get rest, so I decided to patrol the hallways. Ares was on to charge, so I decided to go without my armor on to go for my little walk. I was on the third floor when I encountered something strange: Jaune, standing outside his dorm room door, listening in on his teammates' conversations. I stopped in the middle of the hallway, waiting for him to notice me. Ruby stepped out of her dorm across from Jaune's and was about to say hello, but I stopped her with my index finger to my lips. Traditional sign language for 'be quiet'.

Jaune finally closed the door, and I nodded to Ruby, who then said hello. Jaune flinched, turning around to see Ruby.

"Long time no see," she noted. "Did you lock yourself out again?" Jaune gave off a small sound, reaching behind his head for some reason.

"Uh... nope," he responded after a tiny bit. "Got it."

"So," she continued as I walked up closer to the two friends. "Where have you been lately?"

"I, uh...," he trailed off before finally admitting the truth. "I messed up." I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin's got me on a leash and Pyrrha won't even talk to me—." He let out a small groan of discomfort. "I'm starting to think that coming to this school was a bad idea." He leaned up against his door and slid down to the ground. "I'm a failure."

"Nope," Ruby denied his comment.

"Nope," he repeated.

"Nope. You're a leader now, Jaune; you're not allowed to be a failure."

"But... what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" Ruby hummed in falsetto thought before responding with yet another 'nope'. "You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff." Another 'nope'.

"Hey, Jaune," I called out to him, now standing two feet in front of him. He and Ruby looked up to me. "I made at least twelve mistakes in the past five weeks alone." He raised an eyebrow. "Two of which were today." I crouched down to their level.

"What happened," Ruby asked me.

"I failed to stop Cardin from screwing with a Faunus girl—."

"Velvet," Ruby corrected me.

"Thank you Ruby," I continued. "And I refused to report his acts or avenge what he did. The other happened recently."

"So... what happened," Jaune wanted me to continue, surprisingly.

"A new team came to the Training Grounds," I explained. "I made the rookie mistake of not doing my research, and it really came back to bite me. I tried to make an alliance with him, and he wanted too much for my level. Then I told him about the other two major, err... powers, and he rejected my invitation for an alliance upon hearing about them. He went on insulting my squadron just because of our position, and I made a major enemy today because I didn't know who he was or what he wanted. It turns out that he is the son of the head of a semi-drug cartel corporation nearly up there with Schnee Dust Companies, so I made a powerful leader turn towards those whose backs are against mine. I'll never get the chance to do it over, but if I were given such a chance I wouldn't change it." Jaune stuttered in surprise.

"But, why," he got out.

"Because that's what makes you a better, more powerful leader, Jaune; you have to learn to accept your mistakes, to not be afraid of them like you are now, and to _learn_ from your mistakes. I mean, what good is a leader if he's perfect? People look for a role model, Jaune; you may have been elected as leader, but that's because Ozpin saw in you a natural-born leader. You just have to dig it out and live it like you see me living mine. I'm not perfect, and neither are you; that's what makes us perfect. We make mistakes, and we both have responsibilities. We have to learn from each other's and our own mistakes." Ruby stood up, probably to go on to bed.

"Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune," Ruby finalized. "And I think that can be you. Have a good night Jaune. You too, Colby."

"G'night, Ruby," I muttered, standing up from my crouch as she shut the door to her dorm. "Alright, I'm off to bed. See you tomorrow, Jaune." I walked off, hearing Cardin's voice from around the corner of the hallway as I headed down to my HQ to bunk down and sleep.

* * *

*Days later, Tranquility Base HQ, 14:30*

"As I already told you," I repeated myself for what felt like the fiftieth time today. "I've already dealt with him. There's no way in Hell I would ever try again."

"But I really need your help with this one," Andrew argued the same thing, proceeding to tip me off even more. "He's after fancy and complex, and I don't have either; I just like to price things really high—."

"Well, then that's your problem," I cut him off. "He doesn't want complex and cheap, either, so I can't help you there. Besides, aren't you allied with the Covenant?"

"Well... yes."

"Then talk to them. Don't talk with your enemy if you have allies who are just as powerful if not stronger. Now get out of my office." Andrew, not wanting to see the blunt end of my anger, just nodded and complied. A knock at my door. "Come in."

In entered Robert, Joseph, and Emily, covered in soot and ash. I saw that they were not happy at all, and I just groaned.

"What happened this time," I sighed, resting my head in my hands. Robert was first to speak.

"Sabotage," he answered simply.

"Kig Yar," Joseph added.

"West Medical Bay," Emily finished. Seeing as how she was also the resident medical officer, she was obviously unhappy about this event.

"Do I even want to know what happened," again I sighed, growing tired of the Jackals' pranks.

"Smoke bomb gone wrong," Joseph informed me. "Blew up the gas main." Just then, the lights in my office dimmed by 25 percent. I groaned.

"I can see that," I growled. "Call in Shephard. I need to talk to him about this little sabotage issue—." The man in question burst in at around that time, clearly angry.

"No need," he griped. "Jackals took half the weapons in the inventory." I beat my head on the desk.

"Add that to the list of things that need to be done," I muttered, lifting my head back up. "Get them out of here, then check for damages. If there are any, get them fixed ASAP; if not, get a barricade up and running. If not that, then set up a smoke bomb minefield. And get that gas main fixed pronto. Call Bravo Outpost if you have to, just get it done." The four nodded and left the area. I sighed in frustration.

"I really need a vacation," I whined just as I heard yet another explosion ring through the hallway. "What is it now?" I grabbed my new twin scythes and new shield, Leonidas II. I checked the hallway to see some Jackals in human form running through. I threw my shield, scaring them senseless when it hit the wall and bounced back into my hand.

"Get out of here," I ordered, to which they complied in fear of my blades. "Dumb thieves." Today was full enough as is, and these guys were not helping one bit.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait so long. At least I slowed down a little bit. WARNING: this next several weeks is going to be similar to this one schedule-wise. I still have a lot of classes to go through and have a lot on my plate as of now. Also, sorry if I'm confusing some of you; if I'm confusing you too much with a specific area of plot, let me know and I'll fix it somehow.

**OC ALERT:** if you have an OC request, let me know and I'll try to get it/them in the story.

**BTW:** I would like to put a cover on this story. If you like to draw fan art sometimes and are interested in drawing a cover image for this story, PM me.

**SCHEDULE ALERT:** my update schedule will be quite a bit off for the next six to eight weeks; I might not even publish anything around that time. I'm currently Beta-reading for someone, and I'm getting some of the college classes out of the way while I'm in high school. Just warning you guys.

That about sums up what I wanted to say. If you liked this chapter or had some issues/questions about it, review or send me a PM. Other than that, I will update ASAP (aka in a few weeks). Peace.


	10. UPDATE: Repairs will be made

_**UPDATE**_

I've officially decided I'm going to restart the series. Expect a reboot of this series in another fic sometime soon. In the meantime, I'd like to apologize for the stupid things I did to this series. This time I've actually done my research, but I'm afraid the damage I've done to this series at the moment (and probably my reputation as a writer as well) is too great, so I'm going to have to rework this series, fix all the damage I did, and set its repairs as another fic. Sorry if this inconveniences some of you readers, but hopefully the new series will make up for that.

Sincerest apologies,

Gen. Texas


	11. UPDATE 2: Last Chapter

The new story is officially up. I'll take this one slow (maybe a little too slow, but still slower than I did this one). This time, it'll actually make sense (I hope). Be warned, some of the characters in the new one are either shown differently than they really are in the Halo Universe or are just called similar names to such characters. One of the characters especially isn't modeled after any of the Spartans, but if there is a Spartan with the callsign 003, the character was not modeled after him. Regardless, read that new story and tell me how you like it. This is officially the last chapter of this story.

FINAL UPDATE: the name of the new story is called Halo - the Next Generation: Rebooted. Sorry for not getting that out there earlier, folks. I hope this one makes more sense than this one did in it's poor miserable lifespan.


End file.
